Friends in the Big Blue Box
by RosesInJamJars
Summary: Set after 'Captain Jack Harkness', where Owen never opened the Rift, and Jack and Tosh are stuck in 1941. However, Jack is soon reunited with some old friends. Contains Tosh/Owen 10/Rose and maybe some Jack/Donna. AU, some Gwen/Tosh conflict later.
1. 1941

**Hello there! Been a while hasn't it! This was just something I'd thought of today. So yes, the start is a bit slow, but, nonetheless, it's coming along nicely. I might update twice today! Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, and reviews are welcomed.**

The night air was cold, even inside small, newly rented cottage. 1941, yet to have central heating. Behind him, he heard a small sob, and he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the noise, which was breaking his heart. Slowly, he turned around, and scooped Toshiko up in a hug.

"We'll get back." He promised into her shoulder. "If we have to take the slow path, or between us we figure it out, we _will_ get back." He felt her nod, and he breathed a sigh of relief. After a few moments, they broke apart, and she smiled weakly at him.

"Come on," she murmured, "There must be some blankets somewhere in all these suitcases." She gestured around at the suitcases on the floor, filled with newly purchased necessities that Jack had procured earlier that day.

-OoO-

After much shuffling of cases, cursing, and rooting around they'd finally managed to locate two thin blankets from the mad collection of things on the floor. The contents of the suitcases were now sprawled out on the floor, while the pair of them stood in front of the very early invention- the sofa bed. They looked at each other un-steadily, the lumpy looking mattress looking very un-appealing.

"I'll go on the floor if you like-"he began, but Toshiko cut him off.

"Don't you dare pull that one on me! I won't have you being chivalrous and freezing to death! I guess... we'll just have to... share." She finished inspecting her shoes, as a blush crept up her face.

"Okay then." He said, nodding.

"But don't you try anything." She said darkly, pointing at him, as they both sat down on the bed, and spread out the blankets.

-OoO-

Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, he became aware of quiet sobbing beside him. It took him a moment to realize where he was, before he rolled over, and placed a comforting arm around her.

"What did I say about trying anything?" She mumbled jerkily, and he chuckled lightly.

"You know we'll get back." He murmured gently, and she shook her head vigorously.

"But we won't. I just know it. Not even if the Doctor shows up." She muttered back, and Jack stiffened at the mention of his name.

"How did you-?" But she cut him off with a shaky laugh.

"You always introduce me as a genius," she muttered, "But you severely underestimate me."

"What were you crying for? Your grandfather?" He asked after a moment. She shook her head.

"Me." She answered. "Us."

"Why?"

She took a shaky breath. "We've got just under three weeks until Pearl Harbour."Jack was silent as the realisation sunk in. Suddenly, he snaked his other arm under her waist, and it met with his other hand, in front of her stomach, and he gently squeezed her in the comforting embrace.

"I'll look after you." Was all he said, as he gently rocked her back and forth, until she fell asleep, breathing deeply. When she awoke at daylight, she found Jack still staring at the wall, worriedly.


	2. Pearl Harbour

**Second instalment for today! Hope you enjoy, and again, reviews welcome.**

The days of safety seemed to fly past Toshiko, until the 7th of December, 1941. Jack always introduced her as a genius, but in reality, that term was anything but correct. Jack was out at work, should have been home an hour ago, and the one thing on Toshiko's mind, was his safety. They didn't have a wireless, or have the paper delivered, nor did they have a calendar. So the date curiously seemed to by-pass Toshiko, as she slipped on her shoes, coat and hat, and made her way outside. She first noticed something was odd, when the occupants of the quaint little Welsh village she and Jack had moved to, seemed to ignore her, instead of waving, a greeting or even stopping for a conversation like they did normally. Then she met the group of young boys in the town centre, whom she and Jack had played soccer with one day. Usually, she was met with a smile, and a wolf whistle from the cheekiest of the group, but today she was met with a glare. And then she remembered. She tried to turn and leave, but the boys grabbed her shoulders, and pulled her back roughly, making her stumble, and fall to the ground.

"Filthy Jap," One of them, Tommy, she recalled, hissed, and kicked her in the side. She cried out, and tried to stand, but they pushed her back down. The other boys soon joined in, laughing with joy as they beat the strength out of her.

"That's for our country!" They shouted.

"Please," Toshiko begged, "I didn't blow it up, the soldiers did! Please stop." Her voice was weak, but only to receive a slap and a smack over the temple with a piece of wood.

"Shut it, you slag!" they cried gleefully. The maths teacher from the school, and elderly man of about fifty, with a limp and fuzzy grey beard, whom Toshiko had befriended, walked past.

"Geoffrey!" She cried, reaching out to him for help, but to be met with a glare, and he did nothing to stop the brutal beating. After what seemed like an eternity, the blows finally stopped, and she slowly un-curled herself from the ball on the ground which she had become. She looked up into the faces of her attackers, one of which leered down at her,

"Now think next time, before you go and blow up our allies, Japan." And he walked away with the rest of his mates, who were all laughing and jeering at each other, as they always did, as though nothing was out of the ordinary. She lay on the ground for a moment, before she decided to move. Slowly she sat up, pain arching through her shoulder, stomach, neck and face. Her hands ached dully, and her legs were covered with battered bruised and cuts. She groped around her blindly for her handbag, only to realize that it must have been stolen at some point. She stood up, and stumbled away from the glares of the villagers, and onto the main road. The ten minute walk to the cottage had never seemed longer, as she stumbled and fell numerous times, rolling into ditches on the side of the road covering herself in mud. Finally, she collapsed against the steps up to their small cottage, covered in mud, grass, twigs and blood. She drifted in and out of consciousness as she waited for Jack, when she was awake, she'd try and distract herself from the pain by studying the majestic garden around her. This hurt more than being shot or stabbed, and she should know. She didn't try to go inside the house. She had no key, or strength to break the door down. She tried to make herself more comfortable, and received a stab of pain from her belly for her troubles. From this new position, she could see her had. This hand was once delicate and smooth skinned, where now it was slightly calloused, and covered with a ruby red coating of blood. She drifted out of consciousness again, and when she woke up, she was in the bed she shared with Jack, free of bloody, mud, grass and twigs. She moaned in discomfort slightly, and wriggled her body so it was more comfortable. Immediately, hands were helping her, and she shrieked loudly, and started to cry.

"Sh, sh, sh... Toshiko, it's me, Jack. It's okay, you're safe now." She looked up into his face, and buried hers in his chest, sobbing for all her worth.

"I want to go home, Jack. I hate this place, I hate my life, and I want to go home."

"I know sweet heart," he whispered comfortingly, rubbing small circles gently on her back. "I know."

_2 months later..._

"Come on Tosh! I've got a good feeling about today!"

He stood on the door step, of the cottage, the blood stains still not quite gone yet. He held his hand out to Tosh, who was just inside the door, looking at him doubtfully.

"Jack, I really don't think it's a good idea!"

"It's just the grocer's Tosh! And we've been saving our rations now, we'll be able to get some proper meat for a change!"

"Jack I-"

"Haven't stepped out of this door in two months!" Jack offered, spinning around with his arms out stretched. "It's a beautiful day, the first one we've had in ages! Come on, I'll look after you!" She sighed in defeat, and stepped out of the door, closing it behind her. Jack smiled, victorious, and offered her his arm, which she accepted. The whole walk to the village, she clung onto his arm nervously, her face pale with worry.

"Relax darling," Jack said, putting on their usual husband and wife front. "You've got nothing to worry about." As they entered the town centre, Jack flashed a charming smile at some of the villagers who he had befriended over the few months they had been there, and finally she heard the familiar tinkle of the bell over the grocer's door as they stepped over the threshold. Immediately, the warm, comfortable atmosphere evaporated, and she could feel the judging gazes of the occupants of the room staring at her. Jack said nothing, but handed her the basket which he'd carried the way down here, and began to fill it up with their allotted food rations. They were half way through, when she felt her arm slip out of his, and she looked at him, her face full of fear, to be met with his re-assuring smile. He was just taking out the money from his pocket to pay, when the grinding of engines filled the room. The money fell from his hands, and fluttered to the ground, as he stood there in shock for a moment, before sprinting with full force from the shop.

"Jack!" She called after him, fear washing over her. She smiled apologetically at the people in the line behind her, as she bent down to collect the money, when the first blow came.


	3. Groceries and Reunions

**Oooh! Somebody added this to their alerts! Thank you loads _ohinyan_ :) That made me happy, so I posted this. Please enjoy and review.**

Jack's heart almost stopped, as the box in question stood in the field in front of him. The world stopped moving, and the next few moments seemed to never, ever, end, until the door opened, and a very familiar blonde woman appeared, laughing. The sunlight bounced off her hair, and her face was full of joy. This was it. He was home.

"Rosie?" He asked. He wasn't sure how his voice carried across the field like it did, how the woman heard him. But she did. She looked around for the person calling for her, until she spotted Jack. Her jaw almost hit the ground. She stood there a moment, mouth agape, simply staring at him. "Rosie?" he asked again. This seemed to snap her out of her trance, and she moved forward a few steps.

"Jack?" She asked, moving forward more.

"Rosie!" He called out joyously, as the two old friends met in the middle of the field, and embraced heartily. He picked her up, and whirled her around, both of them laughing gleefully.

"I've missed you Jack!" She cried, once he had set her down. "Where did you go?" She asked. "Cos the Doctor said you were sortin' ou' the Games station, and I though' that' was odd tha' ya didn't say goodbye to me, but then he regenera'ed, and-"

"He abandoned me." Jack said coldly. Rose's face fell.

"Wha'? Why?"

"He left me, Rosie. And now I can't die and..." As he launched into the familiar explanation, he studied the blonde's face. Slowly, it was filling with rage, anger bubbling away. When he had finished, she stood before him, fists clenched, and for a moment, he thought she was going to punch him.

"Doctor! Ge' ou' here now!" She bellowed behind her. Then she stood on her toes, and whispered in Jack's ear what she wanted him to do.

"But, Rosie, I can't-"

"Captain." Came a voice from the TARDIS doors. Jack tore himself from Rose's side, and marched up to the Doctor, and stood before him arms folded. This regeneration was different, by all means. He certainly wasn't expecting the suit and riding coat and... Were those Chucks? The Doctor opened his mouth, with what Jack hoped was an apology.

"Captain... have you had work done?" The anger that had been burning inside Jack for over one hundred years suddenly grew a little bit more.

"You can talk!" He stated coldly.

"What?" He asked, confused. "Oh! The regeneration! Yes, I-" and then the rage exploded inside Jack, and he followed Rose's instructions to the letter. He balled a fist, and punched the Timelord in the mouth.

-OoO-

"... and I landed in 1869, and I've been waiting ever since!" He finished bitterly, watching as the Doctor hung his head in shame.

"I'm sorry Jack, I really am." The words that Jack had waited so long to hear, and when they came, it felt nowhere near as good as he'd imagined. "So, you've been waiting for eighty years!" he cried.

"Well, actually, two hundred. I was investigating something in 2007, and we were zapped back here to 1941, and we've been looking for a way..." Jack's stomach nearly dropped out of his body, as he remembered.

"Jack?" Rose asked worriedly, placing a hand on his elbow.

"Fuck." He muttered, his breathing increasing quickly.

"What's wrong?" The Doctor asked, standing up beside Rose.

"I said I'd protect her." He muttered. "Toshiko. She's Japanese. I said I'd protect her cos of last time... oh god. Oh shit."

"Wha' Jack I don'-"

"Pearl Harbour, Rosie." Rose's face paled.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" He moaned. Then he looked at the Doctor. "I'll be back, I'm going to go get her, don't run away again, or I'll-"

"JACK!" Screamed Toshiko, and he whipped around. She was staggering, as fast as she could around the corner of the local church, to the field where he stood. She was clutching her shoulder, and had a nasty looking gas across her forehead, but otherwise she seemed un-harmed. He breathed a small sigh of relief, and began to make his way towards her, until he saw the villagers following her. It was like a scene from a medieval witch burning movie. They held bricks and stones, and the man at the front of the group held...

"TOSHIKO!" He roared, as he sprinted, faster than he had ever run in his life towards her. He was close, so close, when the man in front, raised the gun, aimed for Toshiko, and pulled the trigger.


	4. Bullets and Memories

_**YAY! Lots of favourites, some alerts and reviews as well! Well bugger me! Thank you very much, justareader13, ohinyan, A Daydream Away, Kitten-KC, The Oncoming Wolf and xCAZx19. **_

_**And justareader- The answer to your question: You can probably guess for Torchwood, and for Doctor Who, this is post Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel. I know the timelines don't match that of the show, but I needed Toshiko to meet Rose. **_

_**Anyway, please read and enjoy+ reviews are welcome!**_

Her stomach exploded in searing pain, and she became vaguely aware of Jack screaming her name, and punching Geoffrey in the mouth. There was some more screaming, and she heard a female screaming for Jack, when the strong arms of Captain Jack slid beneath her, and lifted her from the ground. Jack was running through the field, with her slowly bleeding to death in his arms, as bullets ricocheted around them. She wasn't sure whether the tears on her face where from the pain from the bullet, or her fear for Jack's safety. At this point, although she had undying trust for this man, she could have strangled him with her bare hands.

"Why are you taking us to a wooden box!" She asked, panicked.

"It's bigger on the inside!" He called back, getting closer and closer to the box, until they were finally at the door.

"Listen Jack Harkness, I'm not exactly in the state for you riddles, but we need to be safe!"

"We will be! I told you, it's bigger on the inside!"

"Jack I-" and then they were in the door. "Oh my god." She whispered, from her vantage point in Jack's arms. Distracted from the bullet inside her for a moment, she gazed about her in wonder. "It's beautiful."

"This is the Doctor's spaceship, the TARDIS." Jack told her.

"_Your_ Doctor?" She asked in awe, but the Captain was moving forward, barging through the room, through corridors, kicking open doors, until finally they entered a room somewhat similar to Owen's autopsy bay. '_Oh Owen_.' She thought sadly, '_I'll never get to see you again, will I?_' Jack deposited her on the operating table, and a blonde woman, and man with eyes like chocolate appeared over her.

"Hullo Toshiko." The man greeted her warmly. "I'm the Doctor, and this is Rose, and we're going to make sure you're alright." Tosh glared at him.

"You're going to make sure I'm _alright_? I've been _shot_ in the _stomach_! And don't take that patronising tone with me!" The Doctor reeled back slightly.

"Right." He said after a while. "Well, we're going to get the bullet out of you, because if we don't, Jack will have no problem physically injuring us." Tosh nodded, and then the Doctor picked up a small metal tool.

"This will hurt." He warned.

-OoO-

The Doctor sighed, and leaned on the wall next to the door outside the med-bay. '_Another life saved_', he thought contentedly, allowing himself a stupid grin.

"So," Rose began, appearing in the doorway beside him, making him jump about a foot in the air. "She was pretty."

"Hmm." The Doctor acknowledged, knowing full well where this was going.

"Not that I was looking or anything. What do you think?" She asked. Her attempt at a casual was truly appalling.

"I did notice," The Doctor began diplomatically. "But I also noticed the other pretty entity right beside me." He winked and strutted away playfully. He'd sounded just like Jack there. God help him.

-OoO-

Jack smiled lightly as he closed the door to the room Tosh was sleeping in. She looked so peaceful. He turned around, only to find himself nose to nose with the Doctor.

"How can a ship as brilliant as yours have no anaesthetic?" He asked, still rubbing the quickly fading bruise where Tosh had punched him mid operation, for leaving her alone.

"I don't know."The Doctor admitted truthfully. "And I hate not knowing!" Jack chuckled at this, and there was a comfortable pause. "Although I have to admit," The Doctor began, "Toshiko has one hell of a right hook on her." They heard Rose giggle, as they came into the control room.

"I know!" she cried, still laughing. "I sor'a stood back after tha'. Le' the Doctor be my 'uman shield."

"You should have seen Gwen after Tosh had finished with her!" Jack said, chuckling at the memory.

"Who's Gwen?" The Doctor asked. Jack perched himself on the railing beside Rose, who sat on the jump seat.

"She also works for Torchwood." Jack explained. "She's got a long-term boyfriend, who loves her to bits, but that didn't stop her sleeping with Owen, and that annoyed Tosh because she's always fancied Owen, though she likes to pretend that nobody knows."

"Ah-hah." Rose said, nodding. "So Tosh punched her?" Jack shook his head.

"Well, Gwen's always chasing after me, which by the way, is as annoying as hell, and she's always flirting with Ianto, who's another co-worker of ours, and that's Tosh's best friend, and one day, Tosh was almost at the end of her tether, and Gwen was being particularly annoying, so I gave Tosh permission to punch if she felt like it, and-"

"You did what? The Doctor asked mouth agape. "Is that how you treat your staff?"

"Well... more or less. But I love them, you know." He said smiling fondly at the thoughts of his loyal team. Then his face fell into an expression of disgust. "Except for Gwen." Rose could barely contain her giggles.

-OoO-

Toshiko woke slowly, and realized, with a start, that she was experiencing something different, something, that had become alien to her for the last few months. She was in a bed, and it was comfortable. Then she remembered it all. Villagers with pitchforks, being shot, the spaceship... She sat up and rubbed at her eyes. She felt no pain in her stomach now, and after the sleep, she felt well rested. She looked down at her body, and realized that she had somehow been changed into pyjamas, probably while she was sleeping.

"Bloody Harkness." She muttered darkly to herself. She stood up, her feet feeling the cold floor, and she felt the sudden urge to dive back into bed. She crept around the bed, to a stool with a set of clothes laid out on it, and a note pinned to them.

_Tosh-_ It read. _–Hope you're feeling better! The Doctor says that you'll feel like nothing happened, and I hope so, because we've got a surprise in store for you before we go home. Put on the clothes (Rose helped me pick them, I hope you like them!) and meet us in the control room. You'll know where to go! –Jack._

Tosh placed the note down behind her on the bed, and picked up the large quantity of material on the stool then gasped when she saw what it was. It was a 1950's style dress. It reached mid-calf, and was the most gorgeous thing Toshiko had ever seen. (Except for Owen.) It buttoned up at the top, and had a small sash of lace around the waist, and as simple as it was, it was beautiful. She quickly changed, then slipped the dark purple jacket over the top. She pulled her shoes on, and slipped in the ear rings provided. She looked like she'd been spat out of the 1950's. She opened the door and hurried down the corridor, until she found herself in the first room she'd arrived in, just in time to see the Doctor drive out of the door on a blue Vespa, followed closely by Jack on one very similar. Rose was leaning against the consol, in front of the door, laughing like her sides might have split.

"Um..." Tosh began nervously. "So that's normal here then?" She asked, giving Rose a fright.

"God! Ya scared me! And yeah, tha's normal roun' here." She grinned for a moment, and Toshiko couldn't help but register a cold note under the Cockney accent, before the blonde chucked her a motorbike helmet. "Come on then! We're gonna go see Elvis perfrom live!" And with that she hurried out the door. It took Toshiko a moment for that to sink in.

"Wait... what?" She asked, following Rose out of the door.


	5. The Idiot's Lantern

_**DISCLAIMER! I always forget this. I don't own the stories or the characters, I just take them out of the glass cabinets from time to time.**_

_**Just to close the confusion here: Lisa hurt Ianto while they were together to such an extent that he was transferred to Cardiff before Doomsday. Just so ya know.**_

_**This chapter is a bit of a cheery one, as the next few won't be so... nice. Anyway, please read, and I hope you enjoy, I've had this one ready for a while now, so... Anyways, plase review **_

_**And thank you **_**Blades of Silver**_**. **_

Toshiko stepped out of the TARDIS, and closed the door behind her, while Rose was saying something about chest hair. Jack laughed heartily.

"Rose... what did you say about Elvis?" Tosh asked timidly. The Doctor chuckled at Tosh's pale face then gestured to the TARDIS.

"Time machine!" he sing-songed. Tosh turned around to look at the blue box, run her hands over the wood, then nodded.

"That's... cool, for want of a better word!" She half shrieked.

"You seem very accepting of this." The Doctor said, frowning.

"Has Jack explained our job to you?" She asked absently. The Doctor nodded. "Well there you go then!" She said, beaming. She felt an odd sense of pleasure that she could converse with this stranger, and she wondered if he'd understand her techno-babble. The Doctor chuckled, and tossed Rose a pair of sunglasses.

"Are you goin' my way, doll?" he asked her, in a dreadful Elvis impression, Rose slid the glasses up her nose, then fastened the helmet around her neck.

"Is there any other way to go, daddy-o?" She replied in an American accent, making her way toward the Doctor's moped, and sliding her leg over it, settling herself behind the Doctor."Straight from the fridge man!"

"Hey, you speak the lingo!" He cried happily as the couple launched into a conversation about Cliff Richard and Rose's mother. Jack gestured for Tosh to jump on the back of his moped, which she did.

"Like the hair-doo, Daddy cool!" She giggled, poking the comb-over with her index finger. "You look like Fonzie from Happy Days!"

"Well, gotta blend in!" He said, laughing.

"To where, London?" She asked.

"Actually, we're in New York! Going to Ed Sullivan's TV studio!" The Doctor yelled over the mix of two engines, as the mopeds made their way down the road.

"It looks like London to me!" Tosh called back.

"The Doctor knows what he's doing!" Rose cried icily to Tosh.

"Listen you two!" He yelled playfully. "Don't you doubt my piloting skills, I-" As they stopped at an intersection, with Union flags hanging from the windows of the neighbouring houses, and a London style double-decker bus drove in front of them. "Ah." The Doctor said, as Toshiko and Jack broke into fits of giggles. "Don'.." He groaned. They drove on for a bit, discussing what the flags could be for, when they ground to a stop outside a van, where a salesman was talking to his clients.

"...And there you go, all wired up for the great occasion!" He cried happily.

"And what great occasion would this be?" The Doctor asked.

"Where you been livin' then? The colonies! The coronation of course!"

"And what coronation would that be?" Asked the Doctor, turning to Rose for help.

"The Queen!" Jack stated, as though it was obvious, (which it was a bit) "Queen Elizabeth!"

"So we're in 1953?" Tosh muttered in Jack's ear, who nodded.

"Oh, I love 1953! The Doctor, cried, as the salesman gave them a strange look, and drove away, to leave the Doctor to hop off his bike. "Oh but this is a BRILLIANT year! Classic! Technicolour, Everest climbed, everything off the ration-" Here he switched to a classic BBC accent, the likes of which Toshiko recognized from old television programs that her Grandmother used to watch, "The Nation throwing off the shadows of war and looking forward to a happier, brighter future!" Rose laughed, and Jack chuckled. Toshiko said nothing. This man was quite good looking, she had to admit.

"So, we're really in the nineteen fifties?" Toshiko asked nervously, and Rose rolled her eyes. The Doctor nodded. "Ianto," Tosh began after a moment. "Can I tell him?" Jack laughed, and patted her on the helmet.

"Sure thing." She giggled, and was about to reply, when they heard a woman screaming. They tore around the corner, to see a man with a blanket over his head being bundled into the back of a police car, while his wife screamed from the door way of their house. A teenage boy ran out of his house, and yelled viciously at the Police.

"Oi! What are you doing!" he shouted. Rose sidled up to the boy.

"Who did they take? Did you know him?" She asked, as the car drove away. A woman who must be the boy's mother appeared behind him.

"Must be Mr Gallagher..." He murmured, then addressed Rose properly. "It's happening all over the place. They're turning into monsters!"

At this point a man, the boy's father probably, stormed out of the house behind Tommy.

"Not one word!" He roared at the boy. "Get inside NOW!" He bellowed. Tommy turned to face Rose. "Sorry, I'd better so as he says..." He excused himself, as he ran back inside after his mother, and his father slammed the door behind him.

"All aboard!" The Doctor shouted, as the four of them jumped on their respective bikes, and drove after the car.

They tore through the streets, and followed the car around a corner, only to find a dead end, with a busy looking market.

"What?" Tosh gasped.

"How'd they get away?" Jack asked, frustrated. Tosh flinched at her friend's mood. When he was like this she'd usually retreat to the other side of the hub. Rose was accusing the Doctor of not passing his driving test, and they decided to go back and talk to the family with the grumpy father.

-OoO-

Tosh stood behind Jack on the door step as the Doctor rung the bell.

"Liking it so far?" Jack whispered to her. She felt herself grin.

"I can't believe I'm actually here!" she whispered back. Jack was about to say something, when the door opened.

"Hi!"They all chorused, as the father raised an eyebrow at them.

"Who are you?" he asked rudely.

"Let's see then, judging by the look of you - family man, nice house, decent wage, fought in the war - therefore, I represent Queen and country!" The Doctor cried, holding some sort of I.D.

"Psychic paper." Jack mumbled to her, and she nodded, having worked with the stuff before, she was familiar with its properties.

"Just doing a little check of Her Majesty's forthcoming subjects for the great day." The Doctor continued, still doing the insane grin. "Don't mind if I come in? Nah, didn't think you did, thank you!"

They all pushed past the man, and found themselves in a living room.

"Not bad, very nice! Very well kept! I'd like to congratulate you, Mrs... ?" Jack complimented, looking towards the mother of the young boy, who was lurking in the doorway with her son.

"Connolly." She answered, nervously. As soon as she finished speaking, her husband spoke up nervously.

"Now then Rita, I can handle this. This gentleman's a proper representative!" he said, rubbing his hands together. Then he turned to the Doctor and Jack. "Don't mind the wife, she rattles on a bit." He said, smiling apologetically. As the conversation continues, Rose and Toshiko perched themselves on the arm of a chair.

"All the social problems of the 1950's in a nutshell." She murmured to Rose, who gave her a fake snigger. As the conversation continued, Jack and the Doctor pressured the father- Eddie to put up the English flag decorations, while the wife and son –Rita and Tommy ( Tosh felt a stab of familiarity at the name)the conversation progressed, when Rita started crying, immediately, Tosh knelt in front of her, and placed a comforting hand on her arm.

"Come on dear," She soothed, "Tell us what's wrong and we can help." Suddenly Eddie threw down the flags in his hands and started shouting, only to be met with shouting from the Doctor as well.

-OoO-

Rose and Tosh were bundled outside, and Eddie slammed to door behind them. They looked around, and saw no bikes, and Rose angrily exclaimed,

"Damn those men! They've gone an' left havn' they! Augh!"

"If I'd had more time and my scanner, I'dve been able to identify that red energy!" Toshiko moaned, and Rose nodded.

"That' bloke who was selling tellies, wha' was 'is name? It was on the side o' 'is van. Did you see wha' it was?" Rose asked.

"Er..." Tosh said, thinking for a moment. "Magpie, Magpie Electrics."

"Cos it seems where all the weird stuff's goin' on." Rose said, and then pointed down the street. "This way I think." Tosh followed, and they chatted as they walked.

"So," Rose said, her tone told Toshiko that she was up to something. "Who's this Owen that Jack mentioned then?" She asked. Toshiko cursed under her breath.

"He's the medic where I work. He's a dickhead, he really is, I don't know why I like him... animal magnetism I guess." She said after a moment.

"Anything gonna... happen between you then?" Rose pressed. Tosh sighed and shook her head.

"Apparently I'm frump girl." She sighed at the painful memory. "It's like he knows how I feel, and he's just using that to slap me in the face when he's in a bad mood!" Rose walked in silence for a bit.

"Bastard." She muttered under her breath. Tosh laughed, and nodded. Rose suddenly seemed friendlier now.

"But you're lucky though," Tosh remarked after some more silence. "You've got a gorgeous boyfriend, and you can see on his face that he absolutely adores you-" She stopped when she realised that Rose had stopped walking, and she turned around to see the blonde a few paces behind. "Rose?" Asked Tosh worriedly.

"'E's not my boyfriend." Rose muttered. Tosh's mouth gaped.

"Really?" She asked incredulous. "Because the way you two talk to each other..." But Rose was smiling like a child on Christmas morning. They walked the rest of the journey in silence.

-OoO-

She and Rose stood, talking to some of the Connolly's neighbours. When they heard the Connoly grandmother shouting excitedly for her grandson, they turned to watch the reunion. Tosh stood there a moment, before she realized that Rose had seen something, and taken off down the street. Tosh looked around for what Rose was running to, and she saw...

"Jack!" She cried happily, as she ran down the street towards him, as fast as her dainty little shoes would allow, and slamming into him, burying her face in his chest. He laughed, and hugged her back.

-OoO-

"Cardiff!" The Doctor announced. "The... er" he squinted at something on the scanner. "Torchwood three '_hub'_. You've got a hub! How cute!" Tosh grinned, and ran to the doors, flinging them open, and was near tackled by her best friend.

"I shot Owen." He mumbled into her shoulder.

"You what?" she shrieked.

"Ianto shot Owen!" She yelled, before struggling out his embrace, and running to find him.

"Owen!" She cried in relief, when she saw him sitting in a desk chair, operating on his shoulder.

"Tosh!" He cried. "How'd you get back here! We were so worried, and..." For the first time, he noticed her attire.

"Why are you dressed like Sandy from Grease?" He asked her.

"Toshiko!" Jack yelled from the other side of the hub.

"I'll be back," she muttered to Owen, and hurried off the find Jack.

"Owen alright?" The Doctor asked, Tosh nodded.

"Good, good." He said stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Well, we'll be off now!" Rose said, leaning forward and giving Tosh a hug.

"I'm not going to steal him away." Toshiko whispered in the blonde's ear. "I know that's what you were thinking. Don't worry, he's all yours." Rose pulled away, eyes wide, with a little bit of guilt in them, thankfully, nobody else noticed.

"You look after each other okay." The Doctor told Jack and Tosh, who nodded.

"Likewise." Tosh said threateningly. Rose laughed, when the cog door whirred open.

"Jack!" came a Welsh voice from the door, and suddenly a brunette was tackling Jack with all the force in the world.

"Oh, hello Gwen." Jack said, embarrassed. Gwen pulled away, and grinned adoringly at him, before turning to Tosh.

"Oh, hello." She said coldly. Tosh nodded to her.

"Rose, Doctor, this is Gwen." Rose slipped an arm around the Doctor, who looked at her in surprise, but said nothing. Rose winked at Jack, who must have explained Gwen's shenanigans to her.

"Hullo Gwen." Rose said. The Doctor leaned in to the Welsh woman.

"What happened to your face?" He asked, somewhat rudely. Gwen's hand immediately flew to her eye.

"Nothing." She simpered, obviously taken by the Doctor's handsome features. Toshiko looked at Gwen's black eye, and had to hide to hide her giggles. Rose nodded, and pursed her lips.

"Jack, I don't think you should piss off Toshiko, do you?" She asked, still inspecting Gwen's shiner.


	6. Doomsday

_**Howdy! I like readers/reviews. Readers/Reviewers are cool. Sorry its been so long (nine days? le gasp!), and for your patience, I've given you this horrible thing. Please forgive me! ...Aw thank you, aren't you sweet?**_

_**In Oz, Downton Abbey season 1 has aired, but not season 2, so we went and bought a DVD from the UK of season 2, and I've just seen episode five. I think I cried more than I did in Day Four.**_

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><p>Three months after they'd been dropped off from the 1950's, Toshiko found herself in the Torchwood SUV driving from Cardiff to London. They were stupid, Jack had said. They were walking to their deaths, Jack had said. If they died, which they most certainly would, it would be helping the enemy, Jack had said. So Owen had shot him. That was how, Toshiko found herself in the Torchwood SUV driving from Cardiff to London, with her dead boss' head in her lap.<p>

"Owen, did you really have to _shoot_ him?" she asked incredulously. Owen huffed, and glanced at her in the rear view mirror.

"We've been over this!" He half shouted. "We need to help Yvonne, and if we hadn't have gone, Teaboy would have had a breakdown if he didn't know where his old friends were!"

"Came you blame him?" She shouted back.

"This is exactly how the conversation has gone the past fifteen times you've had it!" Ianto bellowed over the two of them, as he continued typing on the computer. "I've written it down, see?" He showed Toshiko a word document, with their exact words written on it.

"Blimey." She muttered, and Owen rolled his eyes. "But maybe you did something wrong!" She began again at Owen, ignoring Ianto mouthing along. "He still hasn't woken up yet, and we're almost there!"

"How could I have _shot him_ _wrong_ Tosh? Jesus, you're just over re-acting!"

"But he's usually woken up by now!" She yelled back. Now they were also getting strange looks from the cars next to them.

"Well maybe he's just-"But they were cut off by a gasp.

"Owen!" Jack roared.

"We need to help them and-"

"Guys." Ianto warned, his nose up against the window.

"Quiet Ianto, I was just saying that maybe it-"

"There are metal pepper pots smacking into the Tower."

They all crowed over to Ianto's side of the car, and true enough, some invisible force was pulling the objects from mid-air, and into the Torchwood tower.

"Daleks." Jack breathed. He jumped out of the SUV, into the Torchwood car park, followed closely by Ianto, Tosh, Owen, and a just woken up Gwen.

"How is that happening?" Toshiko asked.  
>"It's just got 'Doctor' written all over it, doesn't it?"Shouted Jack, as they entered the building, and started on the stairs. When they reached the twenty eighth floor, they heard Ianto gasp, and run to a pile of what appeared to be bodies covered in metal. Two more floors. Gwen had dropped from the ranks a long time ago, to help some people who were trapped under a pile of rubble. They were on the twenty ninth, when a man made of metal smashed through the window, knocked Toshiko and Owen to the floor, and bounced off the walls as it made its way up the stairs. They ran as fast as they could up the stairs, and immediately flattened themselves to the floor, when they were almost hit by a dalek. The wind, there seemed to be no other way to describe it, seemed to be drawing the daleks and metal men into a white light at the end of the room, which was so bright, that it made Toshiko cover her eyes. It was almost how she'd always imagined heaven to be. Her eyes strayed from the light, to the man holding onto a black handle type of thing on the wall opposite them.<p>

"Doctor?" She shrieked. He was being pulled sideways into the light by the wind; his face was filled with worry.

"ROSE!" he was shouting. "!" She looked worriedly at Jack, and all three of them belly crawled to the middle of the room to see Rose struggling with the distance between her and the lever. She was being pulled into the light, she couldn't hold on much longer. Immediately, Toshiko was on her feet, and sprinted over the lever.  
>"Hold on to the clamp!" She shouted over the noise, and began struggling to pull the clamp right. "Owen, Jack, help me!" She yelled. On their way over, Owen was hit by a metal man, right on the head, causing him to slump to the floor. "Owen!" She shrieked. Jack bounded forwards, and joined Toshiko at the lever.<p>

"It's stuck!" Jack yelled. "We need more strength!" Straight away, Rose was reaching out to them. "No Rosie," Jack warned. "Stay there!"

"ROSE!" Shouted the Doctor again.

"Toshiko!" Jack bellowed in her ear. "Go find Ianto! We need more muscle!" Suddenly, Rose's body swung around, smacking heavily into Jack, as she flew around the handle, and was now hanging onto it with all the strength she could muster. By now Jack was hanging onto Rose, rather than the lever, which was slowly moving back to its proper place, when Rose's fingers were beginning to slip. Toshiko glanced over to the Doctor, his face full of terror. Slowly, the light at the end of the room began to close, the white of the plaster dampening the bright light.

"Hang on!" Tosh cried. There were no more Daleks by now, just the wind, which also seemed to be lessening. She too grabbed Rose's arms, and held on tightly, but her grip was slipping, as was Jack's. In one swift motion, Rose had let go of the lever, and was holding onto Toshiko, as Jack tried fruitlessly to grab her legs. Rose's eyes moved from both of her friend's faces, and instantly, Toshiko knew what was about to happen. Rose looked over at the Doctor.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, and was pulled from Toshiko's grasp. A man appeared and caught her and was gone again, and all the winds stopped. The Doctor fell to the floor with a heavy thud. Toshiko waited for a moment, and then she heard him scream.


	7. Goodbyes, and Brides

_**I apologize for the amazing dreadfulness of this chapter! I've started a second story, so updates will be a bit less frequent, but still. **_

_**My new story is called 'A Muddled up Life', you can see it on my profile. (Hint hint!)**_

_**Thank you to for reviewing, and thank you to all you favouiters! You're much loved :D**_

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><p><strong>Ianto<strong>

Ianto's breath hitched when he saw the bodies of what were his friends. Bloodied and mutilated, they laid, some in a pile on the floor, their heads horribly deformed, some still in metal cradles. He ran to the nearest one, and gently touched the head, which lolled over to face him, coated in a ruby red layer of blood. He choked on nothing, and crept towards the next cradle. He placed a hand on the person's head, and gently rolled it so he could see who it was. Paul from maintenance. Next cradle, Jenny from Finance. Next cradle, Elizabeth from Technology. Next cradle, Phinn from the labs. Next cradle, Georgia who's desk used to be three away from Ianto's. Next cradle... Lisa. He choked back a sob, and knelt by her bloodied metal cradle. She'd been so horrible to him, too horrible for words, and yet... he'd never really stopped loving her entirely, there was still something, there, still a spark. He sat there for a few minutes, before he became aware of faint sobbing. His head whipped up, and he sprung to his feet.

"Hello?" He called. "Where are you? Do you need help?" Instantly, the sobs ceased. "Hello?" He called again.

"Ianto?" Came a timid, and slightly disbelieving voice.

"Who's there, who is it?" He asked desperately.

"It's Adele. I'm over here!" He followed the sound of his old friend's voice, until he came to a stand by her cradle. She looked shaken, but otherwise unharmed, her green eyes wide, and red hair a mess.

"Oh, Addy!" He cried in shock, and made his way forwards.

"Watch out!" she shrieked, and Ianto looked up to just above his eye line. A many armed instrument was hanging from the ceiling, with scissors, knives needles, the scissors in question poised precariously about Adelle's head.

"Help me!" She sobbed quietly. He gazed hatefully at the contraption above her head.

"I'll be right back." He said, nodding at her, before sprinting away. If he could help one person, he damn well would.

**Owen**

His head throbbed as he awoke, in the big room. It took him a moment to get his bearings, and figure out where he was, and what was happening. He stood up, shards of glass sliding off him, and tinkering to the floor. At the other end of the room, Tosh was comforting the man who'd been hanging from the thing on the wall, and Jack stood by, not daring to go too close. The blonde was no-where in sight. Behind him he heard footsteps, and a hand was on his shoulder. He looked around to see Ianto, panic all over his face.

"You've got to help me." He said desperately. Owen nodded, and followed.

**Gwen**

Her hands ached, and she stopped briefly to nurse them, before delving back into the rubble, and pulling out the next body. She shuddered, and continued.

**Jack**

He couldn't go to close. To be honest, he wouldn't go to close.

She'd been twenty one years old. Twenty one. He felt empty inside, the grief having not consumed him yet, though he knew it would. He looked up to see Ianto and Owen running from the room, and made the decision to follow them. He gently placed a hand on Toshiko's back, and she looked up.

"I'm going to go make sure the others are alright." He murmured, and she nodded before turning back to the Doctor.

"Be careful." The Doctor warned him absently, his words slightly muffled by Toshiko's arm. Jack nodded and running in the direction Owen and Ianto had left.

**The Conversion Room**

"...That button there." Jack commanded, from his awkward position. Owen pressed the button, and Jack was jerked sideways with the physical converter, dangling above Adele's converter. Ianto was holding her hand, as she sweated nervously, as Jack delved into his little knowledge of Cyber conversion units, trying to free Adele.

"It's not working Jack, isn't there something else we can do?" Owen asked, standing up by the control panel.

"No." Jack said shortly.

"Could we break it maybe?" Ianto asked.

"The metal doesn't look to strong, we could maybe find an electric saw or something-"

"Don't you dare!" Adele threatened.

"We have to do it like this. There's nobody who can help." Jack said bitterly. "The button above the last one you used." He told Owen, who sighed, and did as he was told. Jack was jerked backwards, and then to the side, the knife coming dangerously close to Owen's head, and Jack's foot ending up jabbing Owen in the groin.

"What in the name of sanity are you doing?" Came a shout from behind them. Everyone looked up, except Adele, whose head was trapped in place, and Jack, who craned his neck awkwardly, to see Tosh, with her hands on her hips, the Doctor behind her. Ianto explained briefly, and was almost finishing, when Jack slipped, falling to the floor, and knocking Owen to the ground in the process.

"Move out of the way." The Doctor ordered hollowly, marching forwards, roughly pushing Owen out of the way. He tapped a few buttons, and smacked the panel with his fist, and Adele's restraints were swallowed back into the machine, and she sat up, gasping for breath, and fell into Ianto's waiting arms. The Doctor looked on emotionless, then turned, and walked away. Tosh followed shortly after him, and Jack stood up, and hobbled slightly after them, dropping his car keys on Owen.

**Owen**

The Torchwood SUV roared along the freeway, with Owen at the wheel, a grumpy Gwen riding shotgun, and a protective Ianto in the backseat cuddling a traumatized Adele. Harkness and Toshiko had left with the stranger, muttering something about Roses, he hadn't heard particularly, but as they'd been leaving he'd definitely heard that noise that the police box had made that time Ianto had shot him...

**TARDIS**

Tosh had never seen something this sad. Burning up a sun to say goodbye, via a hologram.

"Hello." He said sadly.

"Hullo." She replied. There was a sad pause.

"How are you...?" As he filled her in on how he was there, Tosh closed her eyes tightly, and pushed her forehead onto Jack's upper arm, and she felt his hand slip around hers. "Wow." She said breathlessly. "Two minutes. I can't think what to say." He nodded.

"Jack and Tosh are here." He said, holding his hand out. Jack sidled up next to him, and clapped an arm around the Doctor's shoulders. Tosh rolled her eyes, and stood beside him.

"Hi." She said in a defeated voice.

"Hey." Rose replied.

"Look after yourself, Rosie." Jack ordered. She nodded.

"That Mickey Mouse?" Jack asked, glancing at the group of people huddled in the distance. Rose nodded. "YOU LOOK AFTER HER, YOU GOT THAT?" he shouted, pointing threateningly to Mickey, who nodded vigorously. Rose chuckled limply, turned to Jack.

"I'll miss you." Was all she said. Jack nodded. Tosh took this as a cue, and slipped her arm through Jack's.

"Let's give them some space." Rose nodded appreciatively, and Tosh steered Jack away, down a corridor, until she found a seat, and set him down on it. She sat next to him, and slipped her arm around his shoulders. Immediately, he dissolved into tears. She was stunned at his forewardness, and realized just how upset he must be. Not that she wasn't upset, but she hadn't know Rose all that long, and wasn't as close to her as Jack was, and wasn't affected that badly.

But to see the great and might Jack Harkness cry like this was just touching. She held him closer, and rubbed small circles on his back, just as he had done for her in 1941.

* * *

><p>Rubbing their eyes, the two men stood either side of the console, when Tosh gasped.<p>

"Where am I?" Asked the bride.

"What?" Jack asked.

"What am I doing here?"

"What?" The Doctor asked.

"WHAT AM I DOING HERE?" she shouted. Tosh sighed heavily.


	8. The Runaway Bride

_**Merry Christmas! Sorry for the length/quality! Thank you favouriters!**_

_**This is the Runaway Bride (for Christmas!), it alternates between Jack and Tosh's POV a lot, and just a warning, it contain some sexual content at the end, I tried to tone it down and not write abysmally! **_

_**Reviews are love, like a Christmas present! (My hinting has been that damaged!)**_

_**Merry Christmas, happy Holidays, with lots of love,**_

_**Aussiegirlxxx**_

Rubbing their eyes, the two men stood either side of the console, when Tosh gasped.

"Where am I?" Asked the bride.

"What?" Jack asked.

"What am I doing here?"

"What?" The Doctor asked.

"WHAT AM I DOING HERE?" she shouted. Tosh sighed heavily. There was a dumbfounded silence for a moment, where Tosh could see the bride getting angrier, and angrier.

"You can't do that, I wasn't... we're in flight! That is- that is physically impossible! How did-?" The Doctor stuttered, bumblingly.

"Tell me where I am." The bride commanded. "I demand you tell me _right _now - where am I?"

"Inside the TARDIS." Jack said, intervening.

"The what?" She asked, slightly hysterical.

"The TARDIS." The Doctor repeated.

"The what?" she shrieked.

"It's called the TARDIS." Tosh explained briefly, an elbow resting on the control panel, her hand cupping her head.

"That's not even a proper word." She accused angrily. "You're just saying things!"

"How did you get in here!" the Doctor asked, frustrated.

"Well, _obviously, _when you kidnapped me. Who was it? Who's paying you? Is it Nerys? Oh, my _God, _she's finally got me back. This has got _Nerys _written all over it." She ranted, as the Doctor came to stand in front of her, looking her up and down.

"Who the hell is Nerys?" Jack asked.

"Your best friend!" Donna replied snidely. Tosh groaned mentally to herself, her face buried in her hand, and listened to the nonsensical banter.

"What are you dressed like that for?" The Doctor asked.

"Oh I'm going ten pin bowling." The bride said, in a fake-posh English accent. She opened her mouth, about to start shouting, but Tosh took over for her.

"Why do you think?" She bellowed angrily. "You're rubbish at this!" she shouted, before turning calmly to the bride. "Hello there. My name's Toshiko- but call me Tosh. This is Jack (I know you're getting married, but he'll flirt with you anyway, don't mind him), and the clueless one is the Doctor." She said, before exhaling deeply. "Now, I don't know who Nerys is," she said calmly. "But I know that everything is going to be alright, ok? We just need to find out how you're here, and then we'll have you back to your wedding." She said, smiling. Her speech seemed to have calmed the bride considerably, because she nodded, and perched herself on the jump seat.

"But I don't understand it and I understand everything! This- this can't happen! There is no way a Human Being can lock itself onto the TARDIS and transport itself inside. It must be..." The Doctor started again, causing Toshiko to facepalm, and the bride to stand up angrily, and place her hands on her hips. "Impossible. Some sort of subatomic connection? Something in the temporal field? Maybe something pulling you into alignment with the Chronon shell. Maybe something macro mining your DNA within the interior matrix. Maybe a genetic—" Here he was cut of abruptly, as the bride strode forwards, and promptly proceeded to slap the Doctor. Tosh contained a snigger, while Jack wasn't as successful.

"Oh, I like this one, what's her name?" Jack asked.

"Donna." She said, calmly composed. "Donna Noble." There was a moment of slightly impressed silence, before she bellowed, "GET ME TO THE CHURCH!"

"...Gonna cost ya love." The cabbie informed them. "Double rates today." Donna suddenly looked about her panicked.

"Have you got money?" she asked the Doctor, who shook his head.

"No, do you?" Tosh winced, even before Donna had shouted.

"POCKETS!" she then looked to Tosh. "You?" Tosh thought for a moment.

"No, my handbag's still... _in the bloody hub_!" she shrieked. Donna looked to Jack.

"Please tell me you have money." She said meekly, adopting a puppy dog eyes act. It would never have fooled Toshiko or the Doctor, but she had a suspicion that Jack fancied the bride-to-be. Jack shook his head sadly, taken in by the act.

"I usually use... alternative methods to pay the cabbie." Jack said coyly. Tosh groaned, and placed her head in her hands; Donna wrinkled her nose in disgust, but said nothing. The Doctor frowned, confused.

"I don't..." Tosh leaned over, and whispered an explanation in his ear.

"You have sex with the driver as payment?" He yelped. The cab swiftly pulled over to the curb, and the driver closed the plastic window between the front and back seats, and locked his door.

They all crowded onto the pavement, as Donna hurled accusations and insults to the driver.

"There's an ATM!" Tosh shouted, sprinting over to the machine in the wall, and began searching her coat pockets for a card. The next thing she knew, the Doctor was behind her, leaning past her, sonicing the machine. He did smell... nice... intriguing... attractive... sexy, even. She cast a sidelong glance at him. He was attractive, to say the least. Not that she hadn't noticed before, she'd noticed as soon as they'd met. Well, not straight away, she was too busy shouting at him, with a bullet in her stomach. But quite soon after that.

A handful of notes emerged from the slot, and he grabbed them with one hand, Tosh's hand in the other, and dragged her along behind him. _Snap out of it_, she told herself sternly. His hand was awfully soft, and his touch was making her feel bubbly. _Snap out of it, woman_! She chiddled herself.

"Thanks for nothing, spaceman!" Awoke her from her daze, to see Donna climbing into the back of a taxi, Jack trying in vain to pull her out again.

"Shit." Toshiko muttered to herself, and resisted the urge to facepalm.

"Tosh, hold that lever down!" The Doctor commanded. She struggled with the lever for a moment, before giving up.

"It's stuck!" she cried. The Doctor hurried up behind her, and reached around her from behind, and grabbed the lever. She was stunned, for a moment, then realized she should be helping to, and gripped the lever tightly, pulling with all her might.

"I haven't used this in sixty years!" The Doctor exclaimed, angrily. Finally, the lever came down, thought it was fighting its way back up again. "Jack!" the Doctor shouted, taking his hand away for a moment, and tossing his friend the sonic screwdriver, before hurriedly placing his hand over Tosh's. "You need to get her from the cab to here!" he commanded. Jack stood there, eyes widened at the task which had just been delegated to him.

"Bu- I can't-" he stuttered.

"GO!" the Doctor roared, and Jack obeyed, flinging the doors open. Tosh closed her eyes, and whimpered slightly.

"What's wrong?" The Doctor asked, worried.

"He'll fall, and die." She muttered. "And we'll have to get him, and it'll be so messy, and I don't think I could handle seeing him like that and- oh god."

"Hey," the Doctor whispered, the current situation forgotten entirely. "He'll be fine. He's tough, is Jack." Then he bent down slightly, and kissed her ear. She was stunned, to say the least. This man had been hurting so badly an hour ago, what had changed? But nonetheless, it had felt... electric. The moment was broken by a shout from Jack.

"Doctor, Santa's accelerating!"

"Donna!" he heard himself shouting. "You have got to trust me!" His heart thudded in his ears. He'd never felt the need to save somebody so badly. To make them safe, to be sure that they were alright, that they were alive, that they were ok.

"I'm in my wedding dress!" she shouted back.

"Yes!" Jack bellowed. "And you look as sexy as hell, now jump!" Donna blushed slightly, and Jack stretched out his arms. "I'll catch, you I promise, now JUMP!" He paused for a moment. "Trust me." He said, appealingly.

"Is that what you said to your friend? The one you _lost_?" Jack thought back to Toshiko's brief explanation, and winced.

"You, Donna Noble, listen to me." He yelled, over the roar of the traffic. "She is not dead, she is so, so alive, and if you want to live, JUMP!" She winced, closed her eyes, and leapt from the car, and into Jack's arms. She fell on top of him with a thud, and he found himself staring into her eyes. He hadn't quite decided what colour they were yet, they were like a kaleidoscope. It had been a moment, and neither of them had moved. She seemed to realize this too, as she hurriedly, (but somewhat reluctantly, he thought) climbed off him, and he jumped up too, slamming the TARDIS doors, and turning around to face the consol, where the Doctor and Toshiko were still standing in their intimate embrace. He looked at Donna questioningly, and she rolled her eyes, making him smirk. He coughed loudly, and they both snapped their heads up.

"I'm back!" Donna announced, cheerfully.

"Oh." The Doctor said, embarrassed, hurrying away from Toshiko, and began filling in co-ordinates. Toshiko let the lever fly upwards, and then she hurried away from the spot, and towards Jack, pulling him into an embrace. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Donna casting a glance in Tosh's direction... was that... _jealousy?_ Jack smirked slightly, but said nothing.

"Don't you ever fall out onto a motorway and die, alright?" Tosh commanded into his shoulder. He chuckled slightly.

"Ok then, I promise never to fall from a spaceship, out onto a motorway and die, whilst attempting to convince a woman in a wedding dress, to jump from a cab, being driven by an evil robot Santa, into the said spaceship." She giggled nervously. They were broken apart, by Donna, taking the turn to cough pointedly. They landed with a thump, only then realizing that there was a small fire in the corner of the spaceship, as the Doctor tacked it with a Fire extinguisher. They hurried out of the doors, and onto a chilly rooftop. Donna sighed, and sat on the edge of the building, legs dangling over the edge. Jack looked at her sadly for a moment, then shrugged his coat off, and draped it around her shoulders. She glanced up from her watched, and smiled appreciatively.

"Thanks." She muttered. Jack grimaced, and sat down next to her.

"We missed it, didn't we?" He asked, and Donna nodded sadly.

"Sorry." He said after a moment.

"S'not your fault." She muttered, and Jack felt as though he'd been punched in the heart.

"You've always got the honeymoon." He said warmly, in an attempt to cheer her up.

"Just a holiday now." She muttered.

"Sorry," Jack repeated. "I'm not much good at this, am I?" he asked, with a small chuckle. To his surprise, (and delight) Donna joined in. "There's a smile!" he said cheerfully, as Tosh came and sat down on the other side of Donna.

"The Doctor says to put this on." She said, embarrassed, holding out a wedding ring.

"Oh, is he trying to rub it in?" she asked, crossly, but still reaching for the ring anyways. Jack shot his hand out, and took it, examining it for a moment.

"Bio-damper!" he exclaimed. He looked over at Toshiko's confused expression, and Donna's sceptically raised eyebrow. "Thos creatures can trace you." He explained to Donna, "But if you put this on, they won't be able to." Donna nodded, and held out her hand grudgingly. "With this ring." He said jokingly, sliding it on to her finger. "I be bio-damp." She smiled briefly.

"For better or for worse." She added, and Tosh giggled.

"So," the Doctor said, sitting down beside Toshiko, fire extinguisher still in hand. "I spent Christmas just over there." He said pointing to a building, which Jack immediately recognized, as a place he had been forced to visit, and had almost died many, many times. The home of Jackie Tyler. "The Powell Estate." The Doctor continued. "Our friend, she had this family... has this family..." he trailed off, looking slightly miserable, but moved slightly closer to Tosh. Jack wasn't sure if Donna had noticed or not, but if she had, she didn't say anything. "Still... gone now." He finished.

"Your friend, who was she?" Donna asked. Jack opened his mouth to explain, but the Doctor cut across him.

"Question is, what do camouflaged robot mercenaries want with you? And how did you get inside the TARDIS? I don't know..." Donna glanced over at Jack, and rolled her eyes, but said nothing. Jack couldn't help but grin.

"What's your job?" asked the Doctor, pulling his screwdriver out of his pocket.

"I'm a secretary." Donna replied, annoyed by the Doctor, scanning her.

"It's weird, I mean - you're not special, you're not powerful, you're not connected, you're not clever, you're not important..." Jack braced himself for the sharp comeback.

"This friend of yours - just before she left, did she punch you in the face?" She asked, sharply, whacking the sonic way. "Will you stop bleeping me?" she barked, and the Doctor meekly put the screwdriver on the ground.

"What kind of secretary?" Tosh asked.

"I'm at HC Clements." She replied, "It's where I met Lance. I was temping." A dreamy looked crossed her face, and Jack huffed, slightly jealously, he supposed. Lucky bastard. He caught himself briefly. What was he thinking? He was Captain Jack Harkness, for god's sakes, he didn't get jealous, he could have anyone he wanted, so what if one got away? Though this one... was different. He'd never felt this way about somebody before, not even Estelle! Donna was still nattering on about her fiancée, and Jack rolled his eyes. "...Anyway," she was saying. "Enough of my CV, Come on, it's time to face the consequences. Oh, this is gonna be so shaming. You can do the explaining, Martian-boy." Jack sighed heavily, as Donna and the Doctor rose, leaving him and Toshiko. She gazed wistfully after the Doctor, he Donna. They both seemed to realized what the other was doing, causing Tosh to blush profusely.

"You too, huh?" he asked, and she nodded. He was about to stand up, when he realized that the sonic was on the ground next to him, and he picked it up slipping it in his pocket, he'd give it the Doctor later.

"You lot may as well try and blend in, we'll probably have the reception anyway, even though, it's just a party now." Donna announced, sadly. The Doctor nodded, looking uncomfortable. "Say nothing." She threatened. "You're going. That's that." The Doctor nodded, and Tosh smirked, looking over at Jack's face. He was falling for this woman, big time.

"Jack?" she asked, bringing him back to earth.

"Yeah!" he answered, clapping an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, I'll show you the wardrobe." They ended up in a massive room, filled with racks of clothing, with a giant spiral staircase in the centre. "See something you like?" he asked casually, and she nodded, still frozen. He laughed, and dragged her up some stairs, to a century appropriate clothes rack filled with dresses and left her too it. She fingered each dress longingly, trying to find one that would fit her small frame. Eventually she found a lavender purple number, to just above her knee, with spaghetti straps and glitter at the top, fading down into plain fabric at the bottom. She glanced around briefly, making sure that the pervy Captain was nowhere in sight, before shedding her clothes, and slipping on the new dress. She found a mirror nearby, and examined her reflection, nodding in approval. She found a box of jewellery nearby, and clipped a string of pearls around her neck, then added a pair of matching purple satin sling back heels, she decided to leave her hair clipped up as it was, and folding her brown leather coat over her arm, she made her way back to the control room. Here, she found Jack, all dressed up in a suit, sitting on the jump seat next to Donna, with a bored looking Doctor leaning on the consol, looking bored. As soon as he saw Tosh, he jumped up, and walked towards her, smiling.

"You look beautiful." He told her, grinning like an idiot, and he bent down, and kissed her cheek.

Jack and Donna watched as the Doctor blandly flirted with Toshiko. Donna looked over at Jack, and raised an eyebrow, but he shook his head. The Doctor was rebounding with Tosh, after Rose had been gone for three hours. He had a feeling that he'd be talking to a certain timelord very sternly, very soon.

"You had the reception without me." She spat, eyes narrowed.

"Donna, what happened to ya?" A bald man asked.

You had the reception without me." She repeated, raising her voice slightly.

"Hullo!" the Doctor called cheerfully, appearing around Donna's shoulder. "I'm the Doctor!"

"I'm Toshiko!" Tosh forwarded, following suit.

"And I'm Jack." He added.

"They had the reception without me!" Donna told them, slightly incredulous.

"Yes, I gathered." The Doctor assured her- rather unhelpfully.

"Well it was all paid for, why not?" A chavy blonde woman deadpanned tactlessly.

"Yes," Donna hissed venomously. "Thank you _Nerys_." An older blonde woman approached Donna, a look of disapproval on her face.

"Well, what were we supposed to do? I got your silly little message in the end - "I'm on Earth"? Very funny. What the hell happened? How did you do it? I mean, what's the trick because I'd love to know—" Ah, Donna's mother. The other wedding guests exploded into chatter, accusing Donna of strange things, and asking her questions. Suddenly, she burst into tears, and allowed the bald man to put his arms around her. The wedding party 'aww'ed appropriately, and some applauded. Jack rolled his eyes, until he saw Donna throw him a slight wink. He grinned. The guests dis-banded leaving Donna and the bald man with Jack, Toshiko and the Doctor. Eventually, she stopped fake crying, and introduced the bald man.

"Everyone, this is Lance, Lance this is the Doctor, Toshiko and Jack." She said, her ar linked with Lance's.

"Sorry, Doctor what mate, didn't catch that." He asked, extending a hand.

"No, just 'the Doctor'."

So this was Lance. This was the competition. _No, don't think like that_. He scolded himself. Donna was getting married to him, look at that big silly grin she's wearing, that's a good thing! She's happy! Don't spoil it! He became aware of Lance (or egg-head, as Jack was prepared to call him) leading a still grinning Donna onto the dance floor.

"I need a drink." He muttered, heading towards the bar. A small hand on his elbow stopped him.

"Or you could dance with me." Tosh said sternly. A small smile graced his lips as he looked down at his hopeful friend.

"Oh, I suppose so." He said, sighing dramatically. He grabbed her arm, and dragged her behind him as he made his way onto the dance floor. He placed his arms around her appropriately, and they began to dance. Not that he minded, dancing with Tosh, but he really needed a drink. He just didn't want the Doctor getting to close with her. He and Tosh had a special sort of friendship, going back for a few years. He'd saved her from the U.N.I.T Prison; she'd developed the computer systems, which had flourished under her care. He'd save her life countless times, and in return, she'd always been there to talk to when he was feeling bad. He'd taken care of her in World War Two, and she'd comforted him after the loss of his namesake. She'd cared for him when he was upset after the loss of Rose, and he'd be damned if anything happened to her on his watch. The song ended, and she began to pull away, but he gripped her hands. "No!" he said, slightly desperately. "Let's dance some more!"

"Why?" she asked, suspiciously. He searched wildly for an excuse, but before he could think of anything, the Doctor was by their side.

"Care to dance?" he asked her politely. She smiled, and accepted leaving Jack standing there. "H.C Clements," The Doctor whispered to him. "Anything?" Jack shook his head.

"Set up twenty years ago by Torchwood one." Jack replied. He then left the Doctor and Tosh to dance, and sat on a barstool, watching them carefully. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, the Doctor is the Doctor after all, maybe it just looks like flirting, but it wasn't, maybe he just needed some sort of affection, the loss of Rose having affected him so badly... Maybe it was all perfectly innocent, and Jack had been thinking hostile thoughts about his old friend. Perfectly innocent, no harm! No need to worry, he's still mourning Rose. Jack thought sadly of the look on his old friend's face, as she was dragged into the void... he turned to order his drink, watched the bartender pour it, swallowed the glass in one steady motion. _Perfectly innocent, no attraction there_, he thought to himself, slamming the glass down on the bar, and turning back around, to see Toshiko and the Doctor pressed intimately close together, dancing rather... erotically. _Just the Doctor, he's clueless, no need to worry_. He tried to shift his attention away, trusting Tosh to look after herself, only to find his eyes glued to Donna and eggy. He almost ordered a second drink, when he spied a man with a film camera, and he hurried off to have a look. After watching it twice, he called the Doctor over to have a look.

"Can't be! Play it again?" The Doctor ordered, slight panic in his voice.

"What is it?" Jack asked immediately. Is it Donna, is she in danger?" The Doctor looked up to him, glasses perched on his nose.

"Huon particles. They kill." He said, worriedly.

"They kill?" Tosh repeated, incredulously.

"And ancient, so ancient which means..." he trailed off, staring intently at Donna.

"What?" Jack asked panicking. "It means what?"

"That it can't be hidden by a bio-damper!" And with that, he sprinted to the nearest window. Jack sprang into action immediately, running towards Donna. He turned, expecting to see Tosh, but instead she saw him at the window, with the Doctor.

"Donna!" he exclaimed, running up to her and her fiancée. "They've found you." He said seriously, watching Donna's worried face.

"But the Doctor said I was safe!"

"Well the bio-damper doesn't work," said the Doctor, appearing next to Jack.

"We've got to get everyone out." Tosh finished, scanning the room.

"But..." Donna whispered, at a loss for words. "It's all my family."

"We'll save them," Jack told her. "Now we've got to find an exit."

"The Santas are over there." Tosh said, pointing to the previously vacated window.

"Out the back door!" The Doctor cried, and the four of them ran to the back door, only to see two Santas with brass instruments, walking menacingly towards them.

"Or not." Donna finished.

They ran to another window, the last remaining exit.

"We're trapped." Tosh whispered. One of the Santas lifted up a remote control, and the Doctor darted away from the window, coming back into the ball room.

"The Christmas trees." He whispered.

"What about them?" Donna asked.

"They kill." The Doctor replied.

"And Santa's a paedophile too apparently, but what's that got to do with anything?" Jack asked. Donna stifled a giggled, and the Doctor looked between them, slightly speechless.

"Not the time!" He said after a moment, then ran onto the dance floor. "Get away from the trees!" Donna sprang into action, herding the children onto the dance floor, away from any Christmas trees.

"Oh, for God's sakes, the man's an idiot!" Donna's mother declared, and it took a lot of Jack's strength not to hit this woman. "Why? What's a Christmas tree gonna... oh!" They all spun around, to see what she was looking at. The Christmas baubles elegantly plucked themselves off the tree, and began floating about the room.

"Oh dear." Tosh muttered, looking upwards. The wedding party all cooed and cheered, laughing, when suddenly, a decoration exploded. The room was soon filled with explosions, and screaming guests. From his position near the sound system, he could see Donna and Lance trying to shield each other, and the Doctor protectively huddling over Tosh, neither of which sights pleased him that much. He felt the screwdriver in his pocket, and suddenly, he had an idea.

Tosh felt the Docotr's hand on her back, and felt a warm tingling spread through-out her body. She leaned in to his touch, both of them trying to shield themselves from the chaos by hiding near an over turned table, when suddenly the explosions stopped, and Jack's voice reverberated though out the room.

"Hey there, Santa." He said, sticking what appeared to be the Doctor's sonic screwdriver into a slot on the sound system. "Word of advice, next time you attack a man with a sonic screwdriver," here he picked up the microphone, and spoke into it. "Don't put him near a sound system." He flipped a switch, and a terrible high pitched noise sounded throughout the room. Tosh moaned slightly, and covered her ears, like many of the other people in the room. She peered around the table, to see a line of robot santas, all shaking and falling to bits. When the last robot had fallen, Jack stopped the noise, and rubbing her ears, she jumped up and hurried over to where Jack was, examining a robot.

"Are you alright?" he asked immediately, and she nodded, while Jack fussed. The Doctor appeared over them.

"I don't think these are scavengers any more." He said, holding up the discarded remote and three in-active baubles. "I think somebody's taken possession."

"Never mind that now," Donna said, appearing next to him. "You're a Doctor, people have been hurt."

"Nah, they wanted you alive," he said, tossing a bauble to her, which she caught. "See, inactive now!"

"All i'm saying-you coud help." She said, regardless. He held a robot head to his ear.

"Gotta think of the bigger picture!" he said, listening intently. "There's still a signal, come on!" he cried, hurrying from the room. She found herself immediately following him, Jack and Donna following behind her a moment later.

Not once had she seen Jack this angry. She almost thought, for a minute that he'd march past the robots, past the big spider, and punch Lance right in the mouth, but instead he placed a protective hand on Donna's shoulder.

"You miserable pig." He snarled. ".you." Toshiko found herself scared.

She was very certain, now, that Captain Jack Harkness was in love with Donna Noble. Before they'd left, the pair of them had exchanged phone numbers, and Jack had sauntered off to his bedroom, grinning like an idiot. Tosh shook her head, and made her way to her own temporary bedroom, closing the door behind her. She sat down, and thought about the Doctor.

He was an attractive man, that was for ceratin, and she was very, very attracted to him. He had been flirting with her, she was sure. But he'd just lost Rose, how had he moved on so quickly? She'd comforted him when he'd cried, and she'd seen the state he was in, he'd still be thinking about her, even now. It was like he'd been possessed, flirting and the advances he'd made, the erotic dancing. And Rose had only been gone a few hours at the most, this was wrong!

But it felt, so good.

She stood up, and made her way to the cupboard, and was about to open it, when her bedroom door opened and the Doctor stuck his head in.

"Hello there." He said, entering the room, and closing the door behind him, walking towards her.

"How can I help?" she asked, in what she thought was a casual tone. He said nothing, and simply observed her, looking her up and down. She opened her mouth to say something, when suddenly, the Doctor's tongue was in her mouth, and he kissed her, a kiss filled with lust, as he puched her up against the cupboard door. His arms were around her back, pressing her chest into him, a=but his body pressing her into the door. She found herself melting into his lustful embrace, when suddenly she remembered everything she'd been thinking about earlier, and broke apart from him.

"No."She said sternly, shaking her head. "This is wrong." She felt pathetic; standing there is a sopping wet party dress, while a nine hundred plus year old alien kissed her neck roughly. "What about Rose?" she asked. The Doctor did not reply, just continued kissing her neck, and shoulder. "This isn't right, you're disrespecting any feelings you had- have for her, and you're using me as a rebound." The Doctor looked up, at her, pressing her more firmly against the cupboard, and she realized that he had a hand on her breast.

"Haven't you ever wondered what it would feel like?" he asked her, she was breathing in her scent, and was becoming over whelmed.

"W-what?' she asked shakily. In response, the Doctor began nibbling on her earlobe. "If I kissed you," he said finally, when her knees were truly weak, and then he whispered in her ear the rest of the sentence. He kissed her jaw, and then her neck, and she moaned slightly.

"No... this is wrong." She muttered.

"I've seen the way you look at me," he breathed raggedly in her ear. "I know you'd love it if I ripped this dress of you, and had my wicked way with you."

"Doctor... not that I wouldn't like it... but Rose-"

"Wouldn't know." The Doctor cut in huskily. He was kissing her collar bone now, and she could feel her resolve weakening. "You said you'd like it, so what's the harm?" he asked, and she gave in. She stopped trying to push him away, and sighed.

"Alright." She muttered, and the Doctor grinned. She felt an odd sensation, as this strange man, possessed, almost, possessed by grief, groped for her hemline... 


	9. Home Sweet Hub

_**I am in love with Downton Abbey. Just saw the Christmas Special, nearly fainted in delight. **_

_**Thank you DoctorWhoandSherlockHolmes and AnCi31 for adding this to alerts/favourites. **_

_**Justareader13: Thank you for your lovely review! The couples advertised will appear, I just thought this might be a bit of a surprise for the mean time!**_

_**BTW: Nothing of this sort has ever happened to me before, so this may be completely inaccurate, though I hope none of you are able to tell, I wouldn't wish it on anyone. **_

_**I hope you enjoy, and please take thirty seconds to review **_

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><p>Jack was lounging on his bead, flipping the piece of paper with Donna Noble's phone number written on it over and over in his hands. He recalled her words upon writing the number.<p>

"Don't think it's a promise for a date or anything," she'd said. "Just a number, so no creepy business GI Joe, or I'll slap you within an inch of your life." He grinned at the memory, and read the phone number again, realizing with a jolt that it had been ingrained on his brain. He was awakened from his daze by a hurried knock on the door. He stood up and made his way over to the door. The knocking continued, persistent.

"Alright, alright, I'm-" he opened the door, to reveal a scantily clad Toshiko, wrapped in a long skinny blanket, the kind that went around the end of your bed to keep your feet warm.

"Wha-?" he asked, before Tosh cut him off.

"The Doctor." She said, in a tiny voice, eyes wide. "He's asleep now... He..." she explained the rebound to Jack, and he felt himself growing increasingly angrier by the second.

"So he ra-"

"No." She cut him off firmly, shaking her head vigorously. He sighed, and buried his face in his hands.

"Come in, sit down," he said absently. She hesitated for a moment, before scuttling over the threshold, and perching herself on the foot of his bed. He closed the door, and leaned against it, his mind spinning. How could the Doctor do this? A man he had known and trust for so long, do something this terrible? He'd seen the spark of attraction between them, the minute she stepped out of the TARDIS doors, wearing that dress, a blind polar bear would have noticed. But now that Rose was gone, the Doctor went around talking women into it? This was just... But a woman that he'd known that Jack held close to him? He felt rage, rage like he'd never felt before bubbling away inside him. He'd have to get Tosh home, and then he'd find the Doctor, he'd find the Doctor and he'd bloody kill him. How must she be feeling now? Not great, that was for certain. He realized that Donna's phone number was still in his hand, and another sense of panic enveloped him. What if she had agreed to come with them? What if it had been her and not Toshiko? Was no woman near this man? Jack had known grief in many, many different forms, and known (and been known) terrible things to happen when any person was under its spell. Was this just the Doctor's way of coping with grief? He was going to toss that man into a volcano.

"Jack?" Tosh's voice shook him out of his reverie. He gazed at her for a moment, at her terrified face, then pushed himself away from the door, and opened his closet. He reached inside, and pulled out one of his uniform pale blue shirts, and tossed it at her.

"Put that on," he commanded, turning his back, while she changed, he thought about what they needed to do.

"Done." He turned around, and grabbed her elbow, pulling her to the door, pressing his ear against it, and listening intently, then turning back to her.

"Does the TARDIS know?" he asked. Her eyes widened more, and she nodded.

"She spoke to me." Tosh said, in a choked voice.

"And?" he asked sharply. She flinched, and moved away slightly. He sighed, agitated, and pulled her into an embrace, where she stood, tense and uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I really am. I'm just so... he was my friend, I never thought he'd do something like this, let alone to somebody who I care about so much... I'm sorry." He pressed a cheek to the top of her head, and he felt her nodding in acceptance. He pulled away slightly, but didn't let go of her.

"She said," she began timidly, and Jack gently rubbed her arm in encouragement. "She said she was sorry for me, she said she'd make sure that he got his punishment." He nodded, taking in the information and then placed a hand on his bedroom wall.

"Hey there gorgeous," he said, closing his eyes, and flicking a flirtatious smile at nothing in particular.

'Honestly Captain,' a familiar voice tutted in his mind. The ship's humming increased slightly as she spoke.

"I was thinking, I know you're linked to the Doctor, can he hear us?" he asked.

'No. I've blocked this conversation from him. Why?' He laughed proudly.

"Good girl, sexy," he told her, with a slight wolf whistle.

"Jack," Toshiko said nimbly. "Is now really the time to be flirting with a spaceship?" she asked.

"Any time is time to flirt with this particular space ship." He told her, with a wink, then closed his eyes again and addressed the TARDIS. "Can you help us out for a bit please?"

'Hmph.' came the reply, the humming becoming angrier. 'I help you out, as you put it, every single day! For starters I make sure that you don't burn to a crisp every time you travel through the vortex? Or should I stop doing that do you think, is it a bit much?'

"No, no, no!" he began immediately. "Sorry, I didn't phrase that right!" The humming calmed, though not entirely peaceful. "Of course I appreciate everything you do for us, I know it's a lot, but would it be too much another favour from you?"

'Of course not.' She replied pleasantly.

"Thanks, baby." He said, with a cheeky grin.

'What do you need?'

"Ok, well, I fly us to Cardiff, could you do that without disturbing the Doctor's sleep?"

'Of course.'

"Great. If I set the co-ordinates for somewhere else, once we've landed, would you be able to go there one Tosh and I are outside?"

'Naturally!'

"Oh, you are too brilliant!" he said, with a smirk. "Thank you so much!"

'You're welcome dears!'He took his hand away from the wall, and hurried to the desk, found a piece of paper, and scrawled a note on it, then found Toshiko's hand.

"Come on," he whispered. "We're leaving." She smiled hopefully, and he grinned falsely down at her. They snuck through a corridor, and immediately found themselves in the control room.

"You've been re-arranging rooms again, haven't you old girl?" he whispered. The humming increased, and the lighting changed in only what could be explained as an embarrassed blush. He dropped Tosh's hand, and hurried over to the control panel typing in the date.

"We'll have been on earth in July and Christmas, so I'll take us there for boxing day, just in case we end up with a paradox." He muttered. She nodded.

"Five months, we'll have been missing?" she whispered, and he nodded in confirmation. He pulled a lever, and kept the joystick steady. They landed smoothly, and he pulled away from the controls grinning proudly. He punched in the new co-ordinates, a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betleguse, plucked the note from his pocket, leaving it on the scanner, and then turned to face Toshiko. She'd picked up their discarded coats, and had already donned her leather jacket, and was holding his coat out to him. He took it from her, and draped it around her shoulders, over her jacket, then wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders, and steered her out of the ship. Before he closed the door, he threw a wink inside.

"Thanks, beautiful." He said, letting the door snap shut behind him. He watched the spaceship de-materialize, then strode to the invisible lift, and they descended, under the cover of the night.

* * *

><p>She woke, in the morning, in yet another strange bed. He didn't remember how she got there, all she remembered was falling asleep on the couch after...<p>

Ah.

She felt...dirty. Strange. She felt so very, very, unlike herself. How could a man so... charming, so... nice, so kind, so spectacular be that... She shuddered at the memory, and felt tears welling up in her eyes. Picking up the corner of the bed sheet, and wiped her eyes sniffing slightly. She sat up, and looked around her. She was in a hole in the ground, in a bed with smelt like Jack. Reassuring. She spotted a ladder to the side of the bed, and she clambered up it shakily, and she found herself in Jack's office. She realized that she was still wearing his shirt, and how bad this would look if the others were there. As if on cue, she heard agitated voices, and realized that they must be there after all. She climbed up the last few rungs and stood on the floor, steadying herself against his desk. She felt shaky, and couldn't walk properly for some reason. Shock, maybe? Making sure all the buttons on the shirt were done up, she breathed deeply, and half walked, half stumbled outside. The three other team members, as well as the sweet girl that Ianto brought back from Canary Wharf were crowded around the sofa, where Jack sat, a blanket rumpled over his legs, obviously having slept there, while the others shouted accusingly at him.

"Where's Tosh?"

"Why have you been gone so long?"

"You left us!

"Where did you go?"

"Why didn't you tell us you were back?"

"We had no idea what to do!"

"You idiot!"

"We were so worried!"

"I don't even know you, and I was worried!" shouted Adele.

"Where's Tosh?" Ianto repeated.

"I'm here." She said, with a small sniff, leaning against the door frame for support. All of them turned around to stare at her, open mouthed. Ianto moved forwards to hug her, but Owen beat him to it.

"Were where you? We were so worried! Are you alright?" She didn't hug him back, she simply stood, too scared what might happen if she did. She used to feel so safe in these arms, the one time he'd hugged her. She used to feel so joyous and carefree around this man, now she was afraid, and cold. She gathered all her strength, and pushed him slightly.

"Tosh?" he asked, beginning to panic. She began to breathe shakily, feeling her throat swell, and her eyes dampen. She searched the room; until she saw him suit, tie, smelled like coffee, kind and gentle concerned face. She held out her arms to him, and in an instant he was embracing her. It took her a moment to process anything, before she sobbed.


	10. Girl Talk

_I'm so sorry! Life has been so busy, but now I'm back babes!_

_Thank you to sweetkitty for favouriting, it means a lot!  
>I hope you enjoy, and please review!<br>_

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><p>The next few hours went by in a blur for Toshiko. She refused to tell anybody what had happened to her, and Jack seemed to respect her wishes for that matter. It almost seemed as though nobody wanted it to be them who were back, as they scanned them, and interrogated them, and typed furiously on their computers, never letting them see what was on their screens. It felt wrong being on the other side of the screens. It wasn't until Ianto handed her a blanket, and wrapped it around her shoulders, did she realize that she was still wearing nothing but Jack's old shirt. She shivered, and huddled herself into the blanket, burrowing herself between the sofa cushions, not caring how much old pizza was under the cushions, not caring who'd done what on the couch, how much dirt was covering the couch, how many alien spores the cough had picked up in the great Alien Jam Jar incident of '06. She spent some time staring straight ahead of her, hours or minutes, she wasn't sure, but eventually she became aware of somebody kneeling on the ground in front of her, and another body on the couch beside her. She blinked her eyes back into focus, and recognized Jack and Ianto.<p>

"Tosh?" Ianto asked worriedly.

"Tosh sweetie," Jack began, shuffling closer to her across the couch, "We want to take you back to your apartment. You can have a shower, get some you-sized clothes, and get some rest." She nodded absently, and found herself being separated from her warm nest on the couch, and swept onto the invisible lift square by Jack, as Ianto brought the SUV around. As they ascended into the open, Jack shrugged off his coat, and draped it over her small frame. It was big and soft and smelled like Jack, and it was comforting. Something about him had a soothing effect on her, and she felt safe in his presence. She remembered when he'd first saved her from the U.N.I.T prison, and she had been terrified, but fascinated of him at the same time. Maybe it had changed when he'd saved her life for the first time, or when he'd promised her a return to home in 1941. He seemed to trust her as well, care for her more than the rest of the team. A platonic kind of thing, she hoped. She knew what Jack Harkness was like…  
>But he'd never hurt her, not in a million years.<p>

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><p>Her apartment had been vacant for Five months, and she'd been worried about the state of it, but Ianto had assured her that he'd been around a few times, looking for some sort of note, and making sure it was nice for when she did come home. They arrived at her apartment door, and realized with a jolt, that none of them had keys, as she'd left her handbag in the Hub five months ago, it was probably lost somewhere. Jack smartly popped the door open with his shoulder, and held it open for her to go inside. It was the same flat she'd left a day ago. Everything was how she liked it- somebody had tidied it though. The bed was made up, the window ledges had been dusted, and there were fresh flowers in a vase on the kitchen table. She smiled weakly, and slipped into the shower. The water pummelled on her shoulders, massaging her tired limbs. What a day. She stood under the hot water for what felt like hours. But Ianto's insistent knocking on the door, brought her out of her reverie, and she glanced up at the clock- a whole hour. She hurriedly turned off the water, and slipped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around herself, she let herself out of the bathroom, and into her bedroom. She picked out her favourite pair of pyjamas, and smiled she slipped them on. It had only been a day for her, but it felt like a lifetime. She ambled out into the kitchen, where Jack and Ianto were drinking coffee.<p>

"Oh, so you decided not to drain the reservoir?" Ianto asked, with a sarcastic smirk.

"Been there, done that." Jack replied.

"Will he come back?" She asked, fear lashing across her chest.

"No." Jack replied instantly.

"Don't lie to me." She deadpanned, staring at him, her voice was hollow. He paused for a moment.

"Might do. Can't be sure." She nodded.

"Would you like us to stay?" Ianto asked. She nodded, and smiled gratefully.

* * *

><p>The days whirled about her in a frenzy of nightmares. She'd dream that she was in the TARDIS, running from a shadow, that whenever and wherever she was, she'd look over her shoulder, and see that shadow. Every time she opened a door, she'd find herself back in her bedroom, and she'd slam the door in the face of whatever was in there. Eventually she'd awake to find herself pinned down to the bed by a member of the Torchwood team, informing her that she'd been having a nightmare- screaming and thrashing all over the place.<p>

She woke up two days after her return, naturally for once. She rubbed her eyes vigorously with her hands, and sat up, looking about her. Sunlight streamed in through a gap in the curtains, and she ever heard a bird chirping outside. Hearing movement in the kitchen, she swung her legs out of bed, and made her way to the source of the noise. The red-haired girl sat at one of the stools at her kitchen bench, flipping through a magazine.

"Morning." Tosh greeted cheerily. The girl spun around, clapping a hand to her heart.

"Gosh, you scared me there!" She exclaimed.

"Why?" Tosh asked with a frown, as she took a mug from one of the cupboards.

"I gave you enough cough medicine to put a horse down." She confided. Tosh backed up into one of the cupboards. There was a moment of tense silence, as the girl inspected the beige suede of her shoes, embarrassed.

"You're good!" Tosh complimented. The girl laughed, and Tosh surveyed her. "What's your name again?" she asked, peering over the top of her glasses.

"Hm? Oh, Adele." She said vaguely.

"Right, sorry, just I didn't…" Adele waved it off. As she did so, something on her hand caught the light, and Tosh gasped, leaping forward and grabbing the hand.

"Is this a-?" Tosh asked in surprise. Adele nodded nervously.

"Ianto asked me a month ago." She mumbled, blushing.

"Oh congratulations!" Tosh squealed, eyeing the neat row of diamonds on Adele's finger.

"We're still not sure if we're going to go ahead with it." She admitted nervously.

"What?" Tosh asked, aghast.

"Well, as we're both working for Torchwood, Jack might not approve." She whispered, eyes wide.

"Jack will!" Tosh exclaimed, pulling a stool from under the bench, and sitting down opposite Adele. "He's happy for anyone to have a chance at happiness, or normality." Adele smiled.

"I doubt we'll ever be normal." She said with a small laugh. "Our kids will probably grow up wandering around the hub!"

"Jack would love that." Tosh told her sincerely.

"Are you two close?" Adele asked. Tosh nodded.

"He's like my best friend and a stranger all at once, you know?" Adele nodded, and said nothing, waiting for her to continue. "Not that Yan's not my bestie any more," she said, putting on a stupid voice with the word bestie. "But Jack understands so much of what has happened to me!"

Adele made a noise of recognition.

"And now it all has happened, I have no idea what I'll do about Owen! I mean I can't be the same around men who I don't know, or know would ever potentially want to be with me, but I sort of found myself drawn to him, yet he can't get to close, you know." Tosh ranted, her speech coming to an abrupt halt. There was a pause in the conversation, in which Adele observed her.

"You must think me pretty stupid if I'm not picking up what's happened." She said, eventually. Tosh hung her head. "I would advise," Adele continued, resting her chin in her palm, "That you don't rant to the others about this, if you don't want them to know." Tosh nodded.

"What do you think happened?" Tosh asked her. Adele sighed slightly, and thought for a moment.

"I think that the skinny one was the assaulter," she began, and Tosh nodded. "He looked upset by something, and you were taking care of him, but I could see he dead fancied you." Tosh swallowed thickly.

"Well done, Holmes." Adele smiled.

"You want to know what else I think?" Adele said, draining her mug.

"What?" Tosh asked.

"I think that Owen is in love with you. He doesn't even know it himself, but he does. He's worried and scared for you, and not being able to be near you is killing him. But I think he'll wait until you're ready." Tosh nodded, and Adele continued.

"I also think that you've slept your worries away, seeing as you're so cheery all of a sudden, and that you ought to have a shower, get dressed, put on those killer boots," she said, gesturing to the brown leather high heeled boots by the door, "and come outside and get some fresh air with me, maybe even stop by the hub?" Tosh nodded, stood up and placed her mug in the sink.

* * *

><p>She appeared in the kitchen doorway, dressed in a skirt, blouse, and smart jacket, wearing the said boots. Her gun was clipped to the waistband of her skirt, and she nodded at Adele.<p>

"I'm ready." She informed her new friend. "I'm ready for anything."


	11. MORE Reunions, Giant Bats, and Mr Mott

_DISCLAIMER! I REMEMBERED THIS TIME!_

_I own nothing_

_I know that Easy Virtue and My Life in Ruins weren't about when this was made/set, but I just threw them in there because I like them_

_And thank you **catlover123456789** for favouriting!_

_Also, this is me trying to capture Gwen's usual reaction to this sort of thing –based off Martha's visit in the show, it just seems like her, ya get me? Also, I wasn't sure how many children Wilf had- because from how many people there were at the wedding, I doubt that it was just Sylvia._

_I hope you enjoy the new chaper!_

* * *

><p>"Jack?" Gwen's voice crackled through the phone speakers.<p>

"Yes Gwen?" Jack replied, touching his earpiece, silencing her voice from the others.

"So let me get this straight-" Owen began for the third time that day.

"Yes Owen!" Ianto interrupted, frustrated. "We ARE investigating a sighting of giant bats- get over it!"

"It just seems so Sci-fi!" Owen protested.

"Like the Bridesmaid's dress." Tosh muttered, with a little smirk.

"GUYS!" Jack barked from the driver's seat, "I can't hear myself think, let alone Gwen's report, so if you don't mind actually _working, _then that'd be just dandy!"

Silence.

"Just because she picked silver fabric, doesn't make it sci-fi." Ianto hissed.

"JACK!" Owen bellowed. "IANTO'S TALKING!"

"OWEN!"

Tosh laughed silently, while Ianto stuffed his fist in his mouth. Three months had passed, since the incident, and Toshiko now felt completely at ease around her three male co-workers.

"Right," Jack interrupted their giggles, "Gwen's been to visit the man who made the complaint, and apparently he's a bit of a nerd, _Star Trek_ uniform kind of thing."

"That makes sense," Adele confirmed through the comms, as Jack switched her connection to speakerphone. "He's posted everything online, taken pictures of the warehouse, but not the 'bats'."

"Is it possible that he fell asleep watching _Star Wars_ or something, and when he woke up he mistook something perfectly normal for an alien?" Tosh reasoned.

"Let's see when we get there," Jack commanded, pressing a button on his earpiece as he spoke. "Gwen, where are you? We'll pick you up."

* * *

><p>Five minutes later, Gwen clambered in to the passenger seat beside Jack.<p>

"You know that man used light sabers instead of light fittings?" She asked incredulously. "He's stuck them all over the walls! He's a total fanatic!"

"They're good movies!"

"Ianto, you're the only one that likes them!" Owen protested.

"They're not that bad." Tosh muttered.

"They're not realistic!" Jack whined.

"Adele liked them!" Ianto argued heatedly.

"She fell asleep!" Owen yelped, as the SUV pulled over in front of the warehouse where the sighting occurred, and parked behind a blue car.

They all gathered on the pavement, loading their guns and checking that their torches were working.

"That was _The Lord of the Rings_." Ianto informed Owen, un helpfully.

"File out." Jack commanded, rolling his eyes. The four of them (Gwen was staying in the car as back up) jogged towards the heavy metal doors, Owen and Ianto in the lead, Jack and Tosh bringing up the rear.

"Well then it must have been _Star Wars_ where she left half way through to urgently buy petrol and flowers." Owen muttered, his voice laced with sarcasm as he and Ianto worked on opening the door.

"That was _James Bond_, and only because she didn't like Piece Brosnan."

"Guys, focus, and stop slagging off at my fiancée's film collection." Adele admonished through the comms.

"But it's not just Ianto's films!" Owen ranted into the comms, abandoning his attempts at the door. "What about _Gone with the Wind_! Or _My Big Fat Greek Wedding_, or _My Life in Ruins_, or _Easy Virtue_, or- let us never forget the travesty, the abomination that a grown woman actually likes- _Mean Girls_."

"Owen, sod off." Adele barked.

"_Focus_." Jack hissed dangerously. Owen immediately went back to working on the door.

"There's a side door, according to the plans." Gwen informed them. "But I can't get up the CCTV, Adele can you-?"

"On it." Adele muttered, the sound of computer keys clacking from the hub filled their earpieces.

It seems fine, why don't Jack and Tosh try- shit."

"What, what's wrong?" Ianto asked, immediately worried.

"An old man and middle aged woman went in the side door about twenty minutes ago, they still haven't come out. Their car is the one that you parked the SUV behind."

"Shouldn't be too much of a threat." Jack whispered.

"The film quality is too grainy to get a fix on their faces, I can't identify them, though they don't look too dangerous- or alien fanatics for that matter." Adele announced.

"We'll risk it." Jack decided. "Move in." He told Ianto, who- as if on cue- wrenched the door open.

* * *

><p>The warehouse was lit only by a red globe by the doors, so when they were closed, most of the building was plunged into darkness.<p>

It was cold in there, and wet, and dark, Tosh decided as she pulled out her scanner.

"I think those are our bats." She whispered, pointing her torch at the ceiling, illuminating three large pieces of cloth hanging from the light fittings- right across from the musty windows.

"The guy lives in the street directly opposite from those windows." Jack muttered irritably. "Tosh, I think you're right, but scan anyway, just to be sure. I'm going to look in this office thing over there, Owen, Ianto, look for the intruders." And with that Tosh was left alone, with her scanner. Morning light was spilling in from the crack under the door, and she longed to be out there, instead of standing by a large forest of packing cases and crates, with two potentially dangerous intruders and two of her friends inside. Suddenly, Ianto's Welsh accent penetrated the silence.

"Tosh, the woman, she's coming in your direction!" Tosh slipped the scanner back in her pocket, and whirled around. Sure enough, she heard running footsteps, and a gun shot.

"OI! WATCH IT THERE, G.I JOE, YOU COULD'A SHOT ME!" Immediately, Tosh's ears pricked up, as she recognized the voice, and thanked all her deities (for Ianto's sake) that Jack was too far awy to hear any shouting, or gunshots.

"Owen, Ianto, don't shoot!" She shrieked. Silence.

"Tosh?" Asked the female, from the darkness of the shipping jungle, "Tosh, is that you?"

"Donna?" She asked, incredulously. Sure enough, the fiery red hear emerged from behind a packing crate near her, after some more footsteps. The two women embraced with a laugh, and then separated, grinning madly.

"What are you doing here?" Donna asked.

"Our job." Tosh replied. "What about you?"

"Hold on, _our_ job? You're with the crazy gun man?"

"Oh yeah, that's Ianto." Tosh replied cheerfully. "G.I JOE!" She called into the darkness, and within a moment he appeared next to her.

"Don't call me that." He muttered, embarrassed.

"I'll have to tell Adele, she'll like it." Tosh muttered, with a flick of her eyebrow to accompany the lewd comment. Ianto made a few spluttering noises of indignation.

"You have been spending far too much time with Jack." He accused after a moment.

"Jack's here?" Donna asked immediately, hopeful. Tosh nodded, and pressed a finger to her comm.

"Owen, come back here." She commanded.

"I can't." He replied.

"Why can't you, dear?" She asked sarcastically. He hesitated a moment before answering.

"I'm lost."

"Lost." Tosh repeated.

"Yes, lost."

"Lost."

"Alright, alright!" Owen muttered.

"Well, don't shoot the old man, if you see him."

"That's my grandfather!" Donna yelped.

"Definitely don't shoot the old man." Tosh repeated, firmly. "I don't remember your grandfather from the wedding." Tosh asked, once she'd hung up on Owen, with a small frown.

"He was laid up with the flu." Donna explained. "He's quite an alien fanatic, so he came with me."

Behind her, Ianto touched his comm. "Darling, you're a terrible judge of character."

"Why are you here though?" Tosh asked, ignoring Ianto.

"I'm looking for you and the Doctor." Tosh flinched violently, though Donna didn't seem to notice.

"I looked all over the internet- I thought trouble, they'll be there." Tosh nodded, and regulated her breathing, when suddenly, the doors were flung open. She spun around and saw Owen tucking his gun away, approaching them.

"Not lost any more then?" Tosh asked, trying to keep her face straight.

"Shuddup." He muttered, embarrassed. He looked suspiciously at Donna, unsure what to make of her.

"Oh, Owen, Ianto, this is Donna." Tosh piped up, pointing to Donna. "She's a friend of mine." They both raised a hand in an awkward greeting.

"What's going on?" Jack barked, as he made his way back from the office. Tosh immediately lifted her finger to her lips, looking pointedly at Owen and Ianto, and then grabbed Donna's arm.

"We found the female intruder." She announced, and spun Donna about, so she was facing Jack, and then stepped back respectfully, next to Owen.

The gun and torch that had been in Jack's hands lay forgotten on the floor, as the two ran at each other, meeting in the middle of the room in a tight embrace. He lifted her off her feet, and whirled her around, her giggling with excitement. He placed her back on the ground, their faces pausing dangerously close to one another's for a moment, and then the spell was broken.

"I missed you!" He beamed quietly.

"Why didn't you call me?" She asked, eyes wide, and he winced at her words.

"I was looking after a friend, and things got in the way. " He murmured in her ear. "But I'm so, _so_ glad you're here." He muttered,

"I'm glad I'm here too." His hands ran from her upper arms to her shoulders, and he pulled her forward their lips meeting.

Tosh surveyed the beautiful scene before her, with one hand clapped to her cheek, and a big smile on her lips. She felt her other hand lightly brush against Owen's, and they both quickly glanced at each other, then hurriedly looked away. She felt a blush rising up her cheeks, and she grinned to herself, suddenly becoming aware of the distance between her and Owen. At the same time, Gwen and the old man –Donna's grandfather hurried in though the open door, and Tosh went to meet them, holding her hand out to the old man.

"Are you Donna's 'gramps'?" She asked, and he nodded, taking the hand.

"Call me Wilf." He replied, eyeing Donna and Jack suspiciously.

"I'm Tosh, a friend of Donna's." She said, dropping his hand. He turned back to Tosh with a raised eyebrow.

"I just thought that she wanted to find some giant bats." He whispered. Tosh nodded.

"I would intervene, because I think Owen's about to be sick in a moment, but I think it's sweet." Wilf nodded in agreement, and Tosh found herself liking this friendly old man. She led him over to introduce him to Owen and Ianto, but Gwen appeared to be losing patience, and had other ideas.

"Jack," She asked loudly, interrupting the beautiful moment in front of them, "Who the hell is this?" She asked with a largely fake smile. Jack raised an eyebrow at her, annoyed.

"This is Donna." He said, as though it was all the explanation needed. Tosh and Ianto shared a look, and nodded, before marching forwards.

"But why are you- hey!" Tosh and Ianto each gripped one of her arms, and dragged her backwards out of the door, only dropping her on the pavement when they were a safe distance away from the warehouse. Both Owen and Wilf quickly followed behind them, neither of them anxious to stay in the building.

"Gwen, you can't keep doing that!" Ianto admonished.

"Why not?" She protested, getting to her feet. "He never shares anything with us, and then all of a sudden he's kissing a complete stranger!"

"Donna's not a stranger, she's my friend!" Tosh replied heatedly.

"You've never mentioned her before." Gwen spat, growing angry quickly, then turned to Owen and Ianto. "You're closer to her, has she ever mentioned a Donna to you?"

There was an uncomfortable silence, as both men folded their arms, neither of them wanting to aid Gwen in her rant.

"And you're just as bad as him!" Gwen accused, turning back to Tosh. "You keep secrets, and disappear for ages at a time, and then suddenly you act like you're in charge!"

"She _is_ second in command." Ianto piped up. "She's been here the longest out of all of us." Gwen threw him a glare, as he stopped talking.

"Who is she then Tosh, who is she?" Gwen barked.

"I met her at Christmas, alright!" Tosh yelled. Silence ensued. Christmas was a topic that the others knew not to broach, Jack and Adele being the only others who knew. All they knew was that something bad had happened at Christmas, that neither her nor Jack dared to speak of.

She stomped down the street, past the SUV and the warehouse, and would have continued on her way, had she not been stopped in her tracks by Owen's voice.

"What happened, Tosh?"

She froze in her tracks, and didn't look around when she spoke.

"You don't need to know."

"We want to look after you!"

"I don't want you to know."

"We're your friends; we've got a right to know!" Gwen argued.

"I'm not going to tell you." She said forcefully, while she felt the shields that she'd built up over the months crashing down.

"Leave her alone, she doesn't want to talk about it, and if you're her friends you ought to respect that!" Wilf commanded, to be met with a snort from Owen.

"Oh shut up Grandpa!"

"Listen here sonny, seventy years ago I fought for this country so that young people like you can have a good life-"

"Yeah, that's wonderful, but this is none of your business, so could you please stay out of it?" Gwen snapped roughly.

"It's not your business either."

"We're her friends, she should tell us this sort of thing!"

"Stop it, leave her be!" Ianto barked.

"Tosh, why won't you tell us?" Gwen whined. "You know that you can trust us-"

"Shut up!" Tosh screamed piercingly. "I hate you, both of you, just leave me alone!" And with that she turned around, and ran down the street as fast as the heels of her boots would allow.

* * *

><p>She didn't stop running, not until she was three streets away, and found a doorway to sit in. She was crying- again. It was all she ever seemed to do these days. Suddenly she became aware of running footsteps- but they weren't any of the team's. She removed her hands from her face in time to see Wilfred sitting down beside her. They sat in silence for a few moments, until she spoke.<p>

"Thank you for standing up for me." She whispered her voice weak.

"You're welcome, love."

There was some more silence.

"You can talk to me if you want- just between us. I've raised three daughters and Donna, I'm not totally clueless." She laughed slightly.

"I just want them to move on from this." She said after a moment. "Something bad happened to me at Christmas, just after Donna's wedding."

"So you're the mystery woman!" Wilf cried in comprehension. Tosh laughed tearily and nodded. "You should'a heard Sylvia nagging me to find out from Donna who you lot were." Tosh laughed again, and continued.

"I'd be better if they weren't always going on about it, Ianto's the only one who's not trying to trick me into telling them, Gwen's practically fornicating over Jack, trying to get it out of him." She paused, and swallowed thickly. "If they're supposed to be my friends, why don't they care?"

"They do care love, they just don't know what to care about." She looked up into his wise old eyes, and burst into tears. He gently gripped her shoulders, and oulled her into his side, for a comforting hug.

* * *

><p>He and Wilf had finally managed to calm Tosh down so she'd be able to go home by her self- though he had a sneaking suspicion that she and Adele were planning the wedding, yet again. Ianto was wherever Adele was, Owean and Gwen had been left to stew in the hub, and Wilf had gone back to the hotel that he and Donna had been staying in, leaving Jack and Donna to go to the pub.<p>

"...So I told her that Lance had left me for her, the last that I heard, because he was more attracted to women like her!" Jack laughed raucously, much enjoying the stories that Donna had told her friends and family of how Lance was no longer in her life.

"So what are you doing with your life these days?" Jack asked, once the laughter had died down.

"Nothing." She said, sourly.

"I thought you were going to travel the world?" He asked, puzzled.

"I tried." She deadpanned. "I went to Egypt, but everything was so touristy, and I came back home."

Jack laughed slightly, taking another swig of beer.

"And when I did get back home, it was all Mum telling me that I needed a job, and telling me how disappointing I was, so I thought of the Doctor, but now..." She though back to Jack's explanation, and wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"So you need a job," He clarified, trying not to focus on how cute she looked with wrinkled nose, while she nodded. "And you want to get away from your mother," She nodded again, "maybe in a lovely little place like Cardiff?"

Donna choked on her drink.

"What are you asking exactly?" She rasped.

Shit, he'd scared her. Bugger, Bugger, bugger.

"Well, we've always got work that needs doing, even now we've taken Adele on, it's still a struggle, and it would give us a chance to be closer and-"

"Where would I stay?"

The bold statement caught him off guard. "I've no money for a flat, where would I stay?"

"You could stay with me." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he immediately wished that he could take them back. Stupid, stupid, stupid Jack, he was going to frighten her off, stupid, stupid.

"O-or Tosh's." He stammered nervously. What was happening to him? He never acted like this around anyone else he'd ever fancied, how the hell was Donna doing this to him? "I'm sure she wouldn't mind, I mean unless-" But Donna cut him off by reaching over the table, and pressing a finger to his lips.

"Your place sounds fine."

* * *

><p><em>I know, I know, one day I'll write a chapter with no crying in it... ;)<em>

**_Please review_**

**_x_**


	12. Couples Night and Guns

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing**_

_**So, so sorry about the wait! Explanation:**_

_**In the summer hols, Mum was constantly on the desktop, Dad was using the laptop, so that left me with my typewriter. So I've had to copy out the last chapter, this one, and the next one to boot. This has been the most torturous experience of my life (next to school camp), but I'm quite a good touch typer now!**_

_**So I'm really sorry again, please don't hate me!**_

_**And thank you SmartGrrl for the favourite!**_

_**Now, see if you can spot the Downton Abbey reference in here (hint, it's not dis-similar to a statement made by Branson... 3) . Also, most of this chapter is a rambling trip to no-where just so that you know. And one last thing, Bilis has gone off the charts, lost somewhere, not coming back in the foreseeable future, in case any of you were wondering.**_

_**Ahem.**_

* * *

><p>"I hate couples night." Owen informed the hub drily, as he swigged from his beer bottle.<p>

"We all hate couples night Owen." Adele informed him, from her place at the photo copier, as she tinkered away at the insides.

"Well it's alright for you!" Tosh spoke from her station. "You're in a couple, so you get a different night off during the week to be a couple!"

"Don't take your sad love life out on my fiancée." Ianto told her, with a cheeky smirk. The 'couples night', as they had named it, always had a sour effect upon the mood in the hub. This was Gwen's allotted night off which she took to spend with Rhys, as well as Jack and Donna's (the newest member of the organisation, who was the only one able to silence either Jack or Owen with one menacing glance) time off, usually occupied with a date. Though Adele and Ianto took another night off during the week, the atmosphere in the hub was always bitter.

From Gwen's desk came a faint buzzing- the sound of her mobile on silent. Owen, Tosh and Ianto all looked up from their desks, staring in fear at Gwen's desk.

"It's like the cry of the banshee!" Owen muttered.

"Gwen's phone is ringing," Adele stated, removing her head from beneath the photo copier, to reveal her hair done-up like a 1940s housewife. "Well isn't anyone going to answer it?" She asked, eyebrows raised.

"Don't!" Owen warned.

"Why not?" Adele asked patiently.

"It's usually a friend." He replied nervously. "A giggling friend. She has friends that giggle and shriek. A lot."

Adele sighed pointedly, and crossed the hub, reaching for the phone. The others looked on in pained amusement.

"Hello, Gwen Cooper's phone."

Deathly silence.

"No she left it at work- who _is_ this?"

Pause.

"Oh!" She cried in dawning comprehension. "So _you're_ Rhys! We've certainly heard a lot about you, mister!"

Tosh and Ianto exchanged glances.

"Yes we have! Did you really get a walnut stuck in your ear?"

Owen stifled a giggle.

"No actually, I don't want to talk to her, I'd like to talk to you."

Silence.

"Well, no, I won't drop it off thank you very much, she can come and pick it up. I'm not her slave monkey."

Pause.

"Well angry profanities to you too!" She snapped into the phone, before flipping it shut, and dropping it back on her desk. "Sorted!" She declared, with a proud smile."

"You are one brave woman, Adele Harman," Ianto said, walking forwards with arms out-stretched, whilst Adele grinned from ear to ear. "And you're mine, all mine!"She laughed and they embraced, leaving Tosh and Owen by her desk.

"Bloody couples night." Owen muttered in Tosh's ear, once again noticing the distance between them as she snickered.

* * *

><p>Across town, in a bay-side restaurant, Donna and Jack were enjoying an intimate dinner. The couple had been growing closer and closer since their re-union two months ago, spending this time getting to know each other. Needless to say, over the past two months, Jack Harkness was loving his life. He was living with the most beautiful woman in the world, who made him feel giddy with one smile, and the kisses were mind-blowing. She was smarter than she made out to be, and funny to boot. Captain Jack Harkness was in love. Although the idea was supposed to make him happy, he felt a dull ache in his gut, whenever he thought of her slowly ageing and dying, while he lived on, young and ageless.<br>Though tonight wasn't about that. The Captain was sure that he was going to get lucky, and was very pleased with that. He had been certain, after Donna stepped out of her bedroom clad in a small black sparkly cocktail dress and very tall black heels- she'd gone out to impress. He did feel guilty for leaving Tosh alone though. '_She's not alone!_' he told himself for what seemed like the thousandth time that night- she was with three of the people that he trusted the most in this galaxy, and he knew that on his many, many lives that she would be safe. His worried expression must have been noticed by his dining partner, because she placed a hand over his own, jerking him back to reality.

"She's going to be fine, you know that." She said, smiling sympathetically. He nodded in agreement, though he was still worried. "Jack!" Donna moaned slightly, and he hung his head. "He's not come back so far, he might not be back ever, and even so, you've drilled the protocol into the others so much that they've practically got in engrained in their brains."

"I suppose." He said, nodding more this time.

"So stop worrying and at least _try_ and enjoy yourself." She told him, with a playful smirk.

Easy. He had a very fetching distraction across the table from him.

* * *

><p>Couples night ended as it usually did, Adele and sometimes Tosh singing <em>Benny and the Jets<em> at the top of their lungs, in a rewarding attempt to annoy Owen. Tonight it was an Adele solo, it was taking Tosh all her will power not to join in.

"B-b-b Benny and the Jets-"

"Please stop singing!"

"Oh it's the weird and the wonderful, oh baby she's a really keen!"

"Please!"

Tosh and Ianto leaned against Gwen's desk as Adele danced about the top of the med- bay.

"She's got electric boots-"

She fell silent- they all did, as Toshiko heard a very familiar vworping noise that made her blood run cold.

* * *

><p>Half way across town, Jack and Donna stood in a passionate embrace.<p>

"Back home?" Jack breathed against her mouth.

"Hell yes." Donna agreed, and they both hurried to the SUV.

* * *

><p>They all knew to be aware of the vworping noise- those had been Jack's exact words. At the time the others had thought it ridiculous, but now everything seemed so real to them. To Tosh however, the room seemed to move in slow motion. Adele sprinted to the armoury, and returned thirty seconds later with a rifle (though Tosh saw her empty the ammunition into her desk drawer, and slam it shut) then pointing it at the box. Ianto stood beside his fiancée, arms folded and looking intimidating in his suit with his cold demeanour, ready to intimidate any occupants of the space ship back into their abode. Out of sight of the doors to the spaceship, Owen moved himself in front of her, his hands reaching around her and resting in the small of her back.<p>

'Protect Toshiko from the box at all costs.' Was what Jack had said. The door began to slowly creak open, and she swallowed thickly. She knew this day would come.

It seemed like an eternity until the doors opened, and the Doctor stuck his head out. As soon as he did, Adele poised the gun inches from his face, and clicked off the safety. His response was to look her up and down distastefully.

"I don't like people with guns."

"Fine with me." She said, nodding curtly. He inhaled, and paused for a moment, searching for something to say. After what appeared to be some internal debate, he finally settled on:

"Your hair style is out of fashion."

In an instant, Adele swung the barrel of the gun, and smacked him across the side of the face with it, a hollow 'thunk' sounded about the room.

"It's vintage." She hissed dangerously. The Doctor surveyed her, and raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He scanned the room, his gaze finally resting upon Ianto.

"Hello there!" He called cheerfully, "Is this the Torchwood three hub?"

"Yes." Ianto replied drily, not even fazed by this man's sudden change of demeanour.

"2008?"

"Yes."

"Fantastic!" He replied, with a grin. "May I please speak to Toshiko?"

Out of sight of the Doctor, Owen gently un-ravelled himself from Toshiko, and nudged her on the hip. She followed him silently down into the medical bay, where he backed her up against the wall closest to the rest of the hub, so if anybody looked into the bay, they wouldn't see her. He bent down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, seemingly surprising both of them.

"I'll sort this out worry." He promised in a whisper, before pulling out his hand gun, and running back up to the hub, leaving a mute and surprised Toshiko in his wake, though she didn't hear any acknowledgement of his presence. Maybe he was hiding as back up?

She couldn't hear much, though occasionally one of them would raise their voices. He couldn't find her, '_Please don't let him find me._' She prayed. Her breathing seemed too loud, magnified a thousand times. She felt sure that she could be heard across the entire hub, and she tried to regulate the intake of oxygen, though she found herself choking, not getting enough air. She let out an enormous, shaky breath, and pulled her knees up to her chest, and rested her head back against the wall. Why her? There were so many prettier women in the world, why her? The geeky little girl, hiding behind her computer, worth nothing to nobody. Before Gwen- Ianto even, she'd felt certain that she was useless, why Owen and Suzie had even used her as Weevil bait on certain occasions. But she'd allowed it, pretended to enjoy it, allowed herself to be walked over, because she'd been thoroughly broken by that damned prison, and had been slowly piecing herself back together. Since then she'd been chased by Weevils, cannibals, gloves, blow fish, fairies, and countless others, and now she was reduced to hiding from a man in a little blue box.

"Well now that's hardly fair!" Protested the Doctor's voice, closer now. "I only want a chat!"

"Well she doesn't want to _chat_ with you, so piss off." Ianto's voice growled menacingly. The Doctor continued talking, un fazed.

"You've not spoken to her about me, she'd not even here from what I can see," Tosh repressed a shudder. "so you couldn't possibly know that!" He informed the couple. "Besides, why aren't you letting her see me?"

"We have orders to protect her."

The Doctor laughed.

"You don't know, do you? What I've done!"

Silence.

"I do." Said Adele.

"Well what has the big, bad nasty Doctor man done then? Answer me that."

Oh god, this was worse than she could have ever imagined. She was a strong woman, she didn't need to be afraid of a secret, did she? Maybe it wa because the object of all her night mares was in the one place she felt safe these days, maybe, maybe, maybe. She was so sick of this! So tired of hiding and crying, and having people smile at her as though she was some sort of special case.

"She doesn't want anybody to know." Adele replied. The Doctor scoffed, and she heard footsteps- un-mistakably his swagger.

"You humans are all the same, hiding from the tru- oh hello there."

"Get out." Owen's voice ordered coolly. "And take that box thing with you. Just get out and stay away from her."

"What is it with the guns?" The Doctor asked nobody in particular.

She'd hidden behind so many people, Jack, Donna, Ianto, Wilf... so many. Why couldn't she face him herself? She needed to confront her fears. If she did, the sleepless nights and the secrets might leave her be.

"We do what we need to, now leave." Owen commanded.

Her heart was racing, and her stomach felt jumpy and erratic- was she really about to do this?

"Look, I come in peace, I just want to speak to your genius." The Doctor begged. "I promise I'll keep her safe."

The words hung in the air like balloons. Keep her safe. Keep her safe. Keep. Her. Safe. _Keep her safe? _

She'd had enough.

"FINE!" She bellowed, jumping to her feet, and turning to face him, ignoring the look of surprise on his bespectacled face. "YOU WANT ME? WELL HERE I AM!"

With her heart pounding in her chest like a drum, she marched up the steps towards him.

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><p>Please review for the next chapter's release, because I'm that evil :)<p> 


	13. Okay

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing**_

_**OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG**_

_**1) I AM SO FREAKING SORRY!**_

_**2) Year nine is more difficult than I anticipated**_

_**3) I'm a lazy biatch**_

_**4) It's Glee's fault. Let's just blame Glee. **_

_**5) I do love you guys, and thank you for my reviews, you guys made my day(s [as there were many])**_

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><p>They got as far as the underground car park of Torchwood, right across the plass from their apartment. As soon as he killed the engine, Donna grabbed his face between her hands, and pulled it down to hers.<p>

"Screw the walk." He muttered into her mouth as he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her closer. She was twirling her fingers through his hair, and his hands were loitering at the straps of her dress- both of them being too distracted to notice anything but what was happening between them, let alone the sound of a spaceship materializing.

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><p>"<em>FINE!" She bellowed, jumping to her feet, and turning to face him, ignoring the look of surprise on his bespectacled face. "YOU WANT ME? WELL HERE I AM!" <em>

_With her heart pounding in her chest like a drum, she marched up the steps towards him. _

She stood in front of him, fuming with rage, and with all the strength she could muster from her wobbly-feeling limbs, she gave him a wallop right in the middle of his chest.

"HOW DARE YOU?" She screamed. "YOU DO THAT TO ME, THEN SKULK AROUND THE UNIVERSE FOR MONTHS ON END, LEAVING ME TERRIFIED OF MY OWN SHADOW, AND THEN COME BACK HERE LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED! YOU TALK DOWN TO MY FRIENDS, AND LAUGH AT THEIR LOYALTY!" She looked up from his chest (where she'd been throwing her voice) and into his eyes. His face had crumbled, and it occurred to her that he'd been donning the cheery facade the entire him, but at that moment, she was just too angry to care. "AND IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME, ASK THEM! YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE THEY WERE THE ONES PINNING ME DOWN AND DRUGGING ME WHEN I WAS TOO HYSTERICAL TO SLEEP, OR CRYING SO MUCH THAT I COULDN'T BREATHE! AND ALL. BECAUSE. OF. _**YOU**_!" She exhaled deeply, and he opened his mouth to speak, but she held up her hand. Rage like she'd never felt before was wiling away inside her. "I'm not finished with you time lord." She hissed venomously, walking towards him, and forcing him to scramble back. "I don't care how much good you do, or how much good you've done. It wasn't some sort of reward for your efforts, you know. Nothing, I repeat, _nothing_, gives you the right to do to anyone what you did to me." She snarled, breathing heavily. The rest of the team looked on open mouthed in shock, while the Doctor kept his eyes trained on the floor.

"But you think it ends here?" She asked. "No, no. Wait until Jack gets his hands on you- you'll not live to see another day! You'll never be able to set foot on this planet again- we'll tell U.N.I.T and they'll banish you or something! Or maybe, we'll tell some old friends of yours."

The Doctor looked up, eyes wide with fear. A sudden twinge of guilt hit her- he was old and sad and she'd made him afraid, but it soon passed.

"Ple-" He began, but she interrupted him swiftly.

"No, no-no, you don't get to speak! I've told Sarah Jane, and Dr Sullivan, you remember him! Or maybe Mr and Mrs Chesterton- they got married you know, and neither of them has aged at all! Or maybe Miss Frost, or Grace Holloway! All of these people who love you will close their arms to you- and all because you lost Rose."

She knew that she'd hit home when the Doctor flinched violently. After what must have been a solid five minutes filled with her berating him, he was still unable to look her in the eye.

"You had friends, who wanted to help- I _wanted_ to help, I was willing, but instead you... _satisfied your urges_." She was winding down now, almost finished. "And now, Doctor, Doctor, I think that I may be the first to say it, but honey, I'm disappointed. Jack is disappointed. Do is Donna, Sarah, the Brig, Harry, the Chestertons, Jo, Grace. All your associated who once worshipped you- disappointed. And I can't say that I blame them."

The silence was louder than ever.

He raised his head to look her in the eye, his own brown orbs shining with tears.

"I- I never..." he mumbled, choking back the tears that were threatening to flow, "In all my time, I never done something so... I don't inten-tend to again, I just... I woke up the next morning and I realized what I'd done... I almost threw myself in a supernova when I thought about how you must have been feeling- that _I_ made you feel like that... because the people that do that sort of thing I would normally be all high and mighty to, and they'd be the ones bringing death and destruction to the world, but I'm not better than then, am I?" He chuckled weakly, and then looked at her imploringly, his beautiful brown eyes wide. She felt her resolve begin to soften.

"Please," He begged, "I know that you hate me, and I completely understand how, but..." He trailed off, swallowing hard and running an agitated hand through his hair. "Jack, he left a note after... well... you know. I haven't got it with me anymore, a Graske are one hell of a pick-pocket, see but what he said really, got to me. It was horrible." He choked slightly, then took a few deep breaths.

"Continue." She ordered, impatiently.

He nodded and did as he was bid.

"I am so, so old, nine hundred and five. I have known so many people, and they've all left me. We've all gone our separate ways. Some left by choice, some... some weren't so lucky." He suddenly collapsed to his knees in front of her, and bored into her eyes with his own. They were old, and filled with the pain and hurt of every second he'd ever known. "All my family died. They're all gone. So many others have joined them, and some were snatched away like Rose-" His eyes closed for a moment, and he quivered with restrained sobs. Had every loss been as painful for him as Rose's had? She suddenly found herself resisting the urge to comfort him.

"Please forgive me." He begged, his eyes suddenly open again. "I know that you don't want to, and I don't expect that you will, but please, oh please, I can't bear the thought of losing everybody that I love because of one moment of lust and greed- I can't live with myself knowing what I've done, it's killing me." His voice was faint, until if delved into a whisper. "Please."

His eyes were boring into her, searching her soul for the possibility that she might say yes. She glanced un-easily over at the team, her friends. Ianto appeared to be mostly shocked about what had happened (she expected that she'd be getting a talk about keeping secrets very soon), while Adele's eyes were filled with tears – some slipping down her cheeks from the Doctor's words. Finally, she brought herself to look at Owen. So many emotions could be portrayed in one expression, she'd never known. For a fraction of a second, the world around her seemed to just fade, leaving just the two of them. The only thought in her mind was to run to him, into his arms, and hug him, kiss him, reassure, to love and to _feel_ loved. As soon as the world had faded into existence again, it faded out again, leaving her in front of a still mute Doctor.

She looked into his eyes.  
>He looked back.<br>The heartfelt apology seemed to weigh on her shoulders like lead.  
>The images of that night flashed through her mind.<br>Jack's loving, caring, big brother actions followed.  
>The thought of the Doctor being alone for so long- lonely and friendless.<br>The thought of him punishing himself for the rest of his exceptionally long life.  
>She couldn't do this.<p>

She sighed and turned her body away, arms folded, and she stared into the distant ceiling. After a moment, she heard him move.

"Okay. I'm sorry." He whispered, his voice hollow.

His coat swished as he made his way back to his spaceship, and she spoke.

"Don't think we're friends all of a sudden." Her words echoed around the silent hub. "This is an acceptance of the apology, not a sudden declaration of friendship." She turned to face him, arms still folded, and her expression serious. "And i can't promise to be civil, but I forgive you." He nodded at her words.

"Thank yo-" She held up her hand to silence him.

"Don't speak. Not a word. Get in your spaceship and flay away before I change my mind."

He nodded, and closed the door behind him hurriedly with a snap.

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><p>He was lodged in front of the gearstick. He was not, by any means comfortable. Jack kissed Donna's neck, feeling shivers run up and down his spine, when they heard it. Her head whipped up and she looked around.<p>

"Upstairs." He deduced, a sudden fear wracking his body. What if he'd taken her away, or hurt her again? Or what if-

"Jack!" Donna screeched, slapping him with her shoe. "Come on!" She shouted, opening the door, and hauling him out. He ran faster than he'd ever run before, yet the distance seemed to go on forever. He almost splattered Gwen in the doorway of the tourist office as he bounded through the small room. He slammed his hand on the button to open the secret door with such force that the wood around the panel splintered. He faintly registered Donna and Gwen running behind him, calling for him to slow down, but he couldn't. The blood was pounding in his ears as he finally reached the cog door, and pressed the button, the door rolling open. He hurtled into the hub, and saw Toshiko, sitting on the couch, drinking tea. Wordlessly, he strode over to her, and scooped her up in a bone-crushing hug, squeezing as tightly as he could.

"Jack!" She laughed, awkwardly patting him on the head, and kicking her feet, trying to find solid ground to stand on, but her toes only reached about a foot to the floor.

"You're okay?" He asked, speaking into her shoulder.

"I'm okay." She confirmed.

He relaxed slightly, and out her down, though he didn't let go of her. He'd never let go of her.

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><p>Plase Review, despite my patheticness<p>

X


	14. Healthy Welsh Air

_**I own nothing.**_

_**Sorry 'bout the wait folks, but I just thought that I'd let you know that you probably won't get any updates for a week or two. Some family are coming to stay, and the room with the computer in it is going to be their makeshift bedroom, so it'd be a bit weird, and besides, me and my good friend who has to my knowledge still failed to read this story (you bitch, lol jks xx) will be attempting to keep a hyperactive toddler entertained. So yeah, you might get another chapter in the next few days, but don't get your hopes up :) .**_

_**See you soon, and happy easter!**_

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><p>In the past, the bright lights and amazing technology of Torchwood distracted Toshiko from the little joys in life, such as taking a quiet stroll across the plass, and breathing some healthy, Welsh air. In the past, the only time that she'd felt at peace was when she was working with her computers and technology, but a quiet stroll across the plass, and breathing some healthy, Welsh air had the same effect. The only reason, of course that she was bothering to take a quiet stroll across the plass and breathe some healthy, Welsh air being that Jack was too busy breathing down her neck every time she stepped over the threshold of the hub for her to concentrate, of course. The technology was far more interesting- these bloody strolls were boring at best. The heaved in a breath, and exhaled some more healthy Welsh air. That was all she could do out here, as there was nothing very interesting much. The day was sunny, yet still cold, a first for Wales. Turning to the CCTV camera mounted in the pole that she was nearest to (it wasn't visibly detectable, it was disguised very well) and mouthed the words 'I'm fine Jack, see, nobody's abducted me yet.', waving her hands around as if to prove that she was still there. She shivered a little bit, and began buttoning up her coat, before she stuffed her hands into her pockets, and sighed dramatically. She was grateful that Jack was looking after her; she thought it was sweet for somebody like him to be so caring, but he was starting to smother her. He'd been so angry after the Doctor left that he'd kicked over Gwen's desk. He'd personally wanted to punch the timelord's face back out through the back of his head. Tosh shuddered at the mental image, and scuffed her feet along the stones, admiring her shoes. Black high heeled dull leather boots that reached halfway up her calf. A cold breeze came along and she shivered, wondering what in the name of god had possessed her to wear her fabulous corporate- looking dress. Adele had picked it out for her. It was a blend of lots of different shades of purple and some grey in a fabric that was almost like tweed, though it looked like one shade of dull purple from a distance. One of the reasons that she'd opted to take a quiet stroll across the plass, to breathe some healthy, Welsh air was so that she could show off her outfit- wearing it made her feel confident. Though she'd been out here for a suspiciously long time- she was beginning to look like a bit of a hobo. More wind blew her way, and she winced, before she realized that something was odd- this wind was stronger. There was more coming at her, and it was more consistent. She turned around- the sensation was familiar, but she didn't quite recognize from where, and whatever it was wasn't quite right, there was something missing. She didn't see anything, just more healthy Welsh air. The wind stopped suddenly, and she blinked.<p>

'_Well that was odd'_, she thought, shrugging. She tried to shake it off, but found that she couldn't quite. All that healthy Welsh air had probably gotten to her head- she'd better go back to work. She began walking forward, but she found herself smacking into something that she couldn't see.

'Healthy Welsh air must be getting funny because of climate change' she thought to herself, wishing that that could be the case, but deep down she knew that it was going to be much more complicated than that. She stepped back slightly and held out her hand, feeling smooth wood that she couldn't see pass underneath the pads of her fingers. Her other hand delved into her coat pocket, and within a matter of seconds her purple framed glasses were on the end of her nose. She walked until the wood dropped away from under her fingers, and she turned what she hoped was a corner, running her hand along that as well. She turned three more corners after that, until she arrived at the side which she started on again. There was one thing in this universe that she knew was that material and shape. She lifted her hand to where she figured the door handle would be, and began feeling around for it. She was successful on her second side. She pulled at it, but it didn't budge. She removed her hand from around the handle, and knocked.

"Doctor?" She called, knocking still. "Doctor, are you in there? It's me, Tosh." No response. She sighed in irritation. "You know that Jack wants to hit you- if you don't open the door, I'll tell him you're here." Almost immediately, the door creaked open, to reveal the Doctor standing on the threshold.

"Hello." He greeted awkwardly.

"Hullo, Doctor." She replied, hands in her pockets. He stood there awkwardly for a few more moments.

"Where are we?" he asked. "Time wise."

"You visited five months ago, when Adele hit you with the gun after you insulted her hair." She told him. She was hesitant to say anything else in case he hadn't experienced that yet.

"Oh, we're up to date then," he paused slightly, trying to figure out what to say, "I thought you'd be shouting at me- you said that you weren't going to be civil and all that sort of thing." She snorted and rolled her eyes.

"That was _five_ months ago!" He frowned.

"So you're not angry anymore?" He asked, and she shook her head.

"But this is insanely awkward." She supplied. And he nodded vigorously. "So come here then." She instructed, holding out her arms. He stepped into them, and she gave him a small squeeze. He pulled away after a moment.

"Not awkward anymore?" He asked, and she frowned.

"Can't you tell for yourself?"

"I just go by what you say- I've learned recently not to argue with a woman." She laughed, and gave him a small shove in the chest.

"It's alright; you're allowed to argue with me." She assured him.

"Why?"

"Because unlike most other women you'll meet across the universe, there is no way in hell that I'm ever going to sleep to you." She said, drawing out the word 'never'.

"You sound like Sally from Coupling."

"That idiotic sentence sounded like Steve from Coupling."

They looked at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing. When they'd calmed down, she peered over his shoulder into the TARDIS.

"Met any new friends recently?" She asked.

"MARTHA!" He shouted behind him.

"Taking that as a yes then." She muttered, and he grimaced playfully at her. Within a matter of moments, a darks skinned woman was leaning over his shoulder.

"Yes, Doctor?" She asked, with what could only be described as an adoring smile. Tosh frowned- this wasn't right.

"Martha, this is Toshiko, she lives in Cardiff. Toshiko this is my friend Martha." Tosh smiled pleasantly, and held her hand out to the woman.

"Nice to meet you Martha." Martha surveyed Tosh carefully, and then took her hand.

"Likewise." With that she turned around and wandered off into the TARDIS. The Doctor followed her path, with a confused look inhabiting his features.

"What was that all about?" He muttered. Tosh looked at him and cocked an eyebrow.

"Isn't it obvious?" This was met with a dumb silence. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Men, honestly..." She pushed past him and entered the control room, marvelling slightly in its beauty. The Doctor shut the door behind her and chuckled.

"Haven't you seen this enough to... you know... not be stunned whenever you walk through the doors?" He asked. She shook her head.

"Never."

He chuckled, and wandered over to the console.

"Fancy a trip?" He asked, twirling a crystallised ball around in its socket.

"Hold that thought." She replied instantly. She bolted out of the door, and back to the security camera in the pole.

'I'm fine, don't worry about me, I'm with the Doctor, I'll be ok, he'll take care of me. See you soon.' She mouthed, waving vigorously. She then sprinted back to the TARDIS, and closed the door behind her.

"All systems go!" She cried, receiving an odd look from Martha who had joined the Doctor at the control panel. The Doctor grinned his stupid grin.

"Allon-sy!"

"Jack." Donna called sharply, her eyes not moving from the monitor. When this heralded no response from the captain she called again. "Jack!" He stumbled out of his office, bleary eyed.

"Wha'?" He slurred sleepily.

"Oh what a catch." Owen muttered as he passed Donna, who shot a glare at him.

"Tosh has gone, she's not on any of the monitors. She looks like she's talking to herself, and then she's gone, just disappeared!"

This immediately snapped Jack back into reality. He ran over to the computer bank, and scanned all of the screens.

"Where the hell has she gone?" He yelped.

" 'Ow should I know?" Donna yelped. All of a sudden, Tosh's image appeared, sprinting across the plass to a CCTV camera. She began mouthing something to the camera.

" Wha's she up to?" Owen muttered, craning over Donna's shoulder.

"Donna, can you put that through-"

"The vocal reconstruction?" Donna finished. "On it." The image on the screen zoomed in, and the software began to process Tosh's mouth movements. Eventually, a generic computerized voice filled the room, the speaker's blaring.

"**I'm fine, don't worry about me, I'm with the Doctor, I'll be ok, he'll take care of me. See you soon**."

Donna felt her throat constrict. Behind her, Owen's stomach clenched, and all the blood drained from his face.

"But where's the TARDIS?" He yelped. Jack, who had gone as pale as Owen gripped the back support of Donna's chair, spoke.

"He must have had the cloaking on. We can't see it." The entire hub seemed to still, watching, hardly daring to breathe. Suddenly, and without warning, Jack grabbed Donna's face and pressed a kiss to her lips. He then flew across the hub in a few easy strides, grabbed his greatcoat, and was gone in a flash of blue wool.

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><p>As he emerged into the healthy Welsh air, he looked around- he couldn't see anything. He ran to the camera where she'd been, and looked from there- and then something caught his eye. It was almost like a silhouette of the TARDIS, fading slowly out of existence, making no sound. Without a second thought, he leaped through the air, grabbed the wooden frame, and held on with all his might.<p>

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><p><em><strong>If the Easter bunny brings me eggs, will you bring me a review?<strong>_


	15. UtopiaThe Sound of Drums

_**DISCLAIMER! NOT MINE!**_

_**Well I suck. Sorry about the wait, life is tricky. **_

_**So, in case you haven't guessed, you need to have seen the episode that I'm remastering to be able to read these chapters. This is going to be chop and change all through Utopia and the second part of the trilogy (I always forget which is which). **_

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><p>The TARDIS gave and almighty shudder and the Doctor almost fell sideways. Tosh hung on to the handrail for dear life, while listening to Martha and the Doctor shout at each other.<p>

"What in the name of god is happening?" She shrieked.

"She's accelerating into the future- I think she's trying to shake something off!" He studied the screen for a moment, his eyes widening.

"WHAT NOW?" Martha bellowed.

"We're in the year one hundred trillion." He gasped, as the TARDIS came to a stop with a light 'whump'.

"One hundred trillion?" Tosh exclaimed excitedly. "What happens then?" She asked. The Doctor looked at her with his old man face- she hated that face. "Don't look at me like that." She snapped.

"The end of the universe."

"Well that sounds happy."

"Tosh, this is serious." He warned her.

"I haven't taken anything seriously since Christmas." She informed him, as she floated over to the door. As she walked down the ramp, she heard Martha whisper to the Doctor:

"Who _is_ she?"

"The kickassest nerd you'll ever meet." She called over her shoulder, as she stopped at the doors and spun around. "Can we have a look?" She asked, hopefully.

"None of the Timelords ever came this far." The Doctor said. "We should go. We should really, really..." The next thing she knew he'd grabbed his coat and was running out of the door beside her. She cheered, and held the door open for Martha.

"Come on then!" She called. The dark skinned woman shot her a glare as she stalked past her. "Oh good lord, not this again." Tosh muttered darkly to herself.

"TOSH!" Came an urgent shout from outside. She followed the sound of the voice, until she reached the Doctor, who was staring at a broken figure on the ground.

"Oh, that stupid bloody idiot." She muttered darkly to herself. She marched over to him and knelt down beside him. Martha must have ventured back into the TARDIS, because she came running out with a first aid kit, but the Doctor held his hand out to stop her.

"He'll be fine." He told her. Tosh felt her fingers along Jack's neck, and her body language must have informed Martha of the results.

"He's dead!"

"He'll be fine."

"HE'S DEAD!"

"Shut up the pair of you!" Tosh shouted, as she began to realign Jack. His arm was twisted out of place, as were both of his legs and his neck, and he had a small pool of blood around his head. She bit her lip and gripped his head, realigning it with a crunch, and then following with his arm and legs. Once she was done, she stood up and clapped a hand over her mouth, trying to hold down vomit. Jack's body began to heal faster, with her guidance. Bones began to re grow with a series of sickening cracks and crunches, and the blood was drawn back into his head. Tosh glanced over at Martha and the Doctor- she thought that Martha might throw up there and then. Finally, Jack sat up, gasping for breath. Tosh walked over to him, and gave him a swift kick in the shin.

"Ow." He complained. She fell to her knees beside him and wrapped her tin arms around him tightly.

"You stupid, stupid idiot." She muttered into his shoulder. "I can take care of myself."

"I just wanted to-"

"You were hanging on to the outside of the TARDIS while it went through the vortex!" She snapped, pulling away from him. "What if you'd fallen off in three thousand years from 2007, and you weren't able to get back?"

"I'm tougher than I look." He assured her. She slapped him. He rubbed the side of his face in shock, then turned to her again.

"Has Donna been giving you lessons?" She slapped him again. "That's a yes than." She shouted in frustration and stood up, storming away. As she stomped past the Doctor and Martha, the Doctor gave her a funny look.

"That time of the month?" He asked, pityingly.

"What is it with men?" She shrieked, marching on her way. Martha turned to the Doctor and slapped him.

"Oh god, not you too!" He yelped, clutching his face.

"Doctor." Came a steely voice from behind him. He turned around slowly to see Jack standing there, a murderous glare across his features.

"Martha," the Doctor warned. "Go back into the TARDIS."

"But I-"

"Go. Now. This isn't going to be pretty." Martha scampered away, eyes wide. She burst into the spaceship and came nose to nose with Tosh.

"Something wrong?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Your friend looks like he's going to kill the Doctor!" Martha yelped. Tosh thought for a moment, and then nodded.

"Quite possibly."

Martha stared in horror at Toshiko's retreating form as she wandered back up the ramp, and began fiddling with the controls. After a moment, Martha stomped up to where Tosh stood and slapped her hand away.

"Don't touch those!" She shouted. Tosh looked at her over the top of her glasses. Martha soon became awkward and squirmed uncomfortably under the Japanese woman's stare.

"Martha, life will be a whole lot easier if we get along, believe me, I know." Tosh said slowly. Martha began to protest, but Tosh spoke over her. "I am not, ever going to be romantically interested in the Doctor."

Martha took this in and slowly nodded.

"And if you know what's good for you," Tosh continued, turning around and leaning on the console, "you shouldn't be either." Martha froze, and felt instant resentment rising up inside her.

"And why's that then?" She asked, hands on her hips. Tosh sighed and rubbed her hand roughly against her face. After some hesitation, she eventually spoke.

"We're more alike than you may think." She began. "See, I'm going to say four words, and you're going to hate them." Martha nodded, waiting for her to speak. "Rose will be back." A tense silence filled the room, which screamed a million things.

"She's not-"

"I know how you feel Martha." Tosh appealed, walking forwards and placing a hand on Martha's upper arm. "You're worried that I'm here to steal him away, and you're hating Rose Tyler because-"

"She left, and every time he looks at me, I know he's upset that I'm not her." Martha finished, avoiding looking at the Japanese woman. She pressed a hand over her mouth, and walked to the ramp, sitting at the base, trying to force tears back. After a moment, tosh came and sat in front of her.

"We both got the short end of the stick." Tosh said softly. "If I hadn't have left when I did, I'd be where you are now, and if you hadn't have stayed- you'd be where I am now, well sort of." Martha glanced up at her with confusion, and Tosh elaborated. "She left a big hole when she left. I know, I was there, I bore his... aftershock, and now you've got the drawn out sulk." Martha smiled, but kept her eyes fixed on her knees. "You're good for him, though. Don't forget that." Martha looked at her and smiled more broadly this time. "I just tell myself that I'm different, and if he won't accept that, then it's his loss." At last Martha laughed, and Tosh internally sighed with relief. The moment was shattered when a shrill scream came from outside. Tosh and Martha exchanged a quick glance, and the next second they were running to the doors.

The Doctor was on the ground, his arms splayed out either side of him, while his torso was being dragged up by a rough fist in his hair, and swift, sharp punches being delivered to his jaw.

"JACK!" Tosh bellowed in anger, causing the immortal man to drop the timelord in surprise.

"And I smote my enemy upon the mountainside." Martha quoted quietly.

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><p>"End of the Universe!" The Master's cheerful voice informed them unhelpfully through the TARDIS speakers. "Have fun, Bye bye!"<p>

"Doctor, stop him!" Martha shouted from somewhere below Jack, whose form was shaking from the strain of keeping the door closed. She adjusted herself slightly so she wasn't leaning so much on him, hoisting herself up more between either side of the door frame.

"I am really not liking that man right now!" Tosh added, as the ship began to fade. The next thing she knew, Jack's arm came around her waist, and a very unpleasant feeling surrounded her.

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><p>That sanctimonious bastard, Tosh found herself quoting from Angels and Demons as she and Martha appeared on a hill side, with TARDIS keys around their necks as spheres set about razing the city to the ground.<p>

"We'll be back." Martha muttered, grabbing Tosh's hand, and dragging her roughly away.

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><p><em><strong>Review? :)<strong>_


	16. Walking the Earth

_**Hi there. I know it's been a while, but I've been going with the flow of life, which hasn't been flowing this way. **_

_**This morning, I watched the fast tracked episode of Who.  
>The Angles Take Manhatten. <strong>_

_**So I felt like contributing something decent to the Whovian society, explaining the mush. **_

_**Also, Downton Abbey isn't showing in Australia. **_

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><p>There was a burst of rapid machine gun fire, and Martha combat rolled into the ditch and down the hole she and Tosh had excavated the night before, pulling the hessian doorway closed abruptly behind her. Tosh didn't say anything, just continued spooning water into the woman's mouth as Martha unstrapped the bandages from her chest that she had just risked her life to save, and began taking the dirty and pre-loved ones off Sarah Jane Smith. The woman had managed to make it to Tasmania before encountering problems with the Toclofane. Suddenly she let out a gasping, shuddering breath, and lay still in Tosh's lap. Both women were silent for a moment, before Martha laid a sheet of gauze across Sarah's face, and muttered a small prayer. Tosh bowed her head, and sat in silence for a while. Just a few minutes was a wonderful privilege.<p>

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><p>That night, Toshiko encountered an inability to sleep. She was more than happy to let Martha sleep while she herself took watch. Martha could sleep, so it seemed foolish not to let her.<p>

Tosh was worried.

More than this situation dictated, surely. So what, they were in an unstable hole at the bottom of a roadside ditch in Tasmania, possibly inhabited by any number of crawly insects or venomous creatures, and several thousand metal spheres out to get them in a post apocalyptic world, she was over that.

Sarah Jane Smith was a Doctor activist, a friend of the great man himself, and an old enemy of the master.

Now, she was dead.

Torchwood were Doctor activists, and enemies of the master, and a lot closer to home.

As she sat here, Ianto could be running for his life. Gwen might be starving somewhere, waiting for the spheres to come and end it quickly. Jack was being tortured over and over again. Donna could be made to watch. Owen might be dead.

She stifled a strange choking noise coming from her throat, and gripped the material of her trousers tighter to give her hands something to do.

They'd made through the rest of Europe and the East, all the way down to Australia, and it had taken them six months. Six months and twelve days.

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><p>Donna Noble's still form jerked violently as another bolt of electricity entered her body. The chains that bound her wrists to the wall rattled loudly, but were masked by Jack's screaming.<p>

"DONNA! DONNA I'M SO SORRY." He bellowed. The volts stopped- it was over for today. Soon Jack's screams subsided and were replaced by his sobs. "I'm so sorry, baby. If we'd never met, this wouldn't be happening. Oh Donna, I'm so sorry." Using a great amount of effort, Donna lifted her head to look at him.

"I'm not, my love." She whispered.

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><p>Today was the day. Adele waited anxiously in the rafters of the barn she and Owen had named their own. He was below, hidden behind several bales of hay, waiting to make the transaction, Adele covering him with her rifle.<p>

Today was the day that Ianto's shipment arrived. The truck arrived, and Adele's heart began pounding in her ears. Owen limped out from behind the hay bales, and payed the man with his good arm. The man stowed his money and went to attack, and Adele's gun went off. He slumped to the ground, and Owen manhandled him back into his van. Adele eagerly swung down from the rafters like a monkey and tossed the hay bales back, revealing the trapdoor in anticipation. The Ianto that Owen escorted from the back of the truck was not the Ianto Jones she remembered. For one thing, he looked like he missed a decent meal. Or several. He was covered in cuts and bruises, and his hair was an inch or two longer. Owen quickly harried him downstairs and Adele closed the trapdoor behind them shut, causing the familiar creak to which she had become accustomed. The walls around her were of dirt and wood, illuminated by her head torch, as the walls whizzed past with her speed. Soon, the walls fell away to reveal their sparse quarters- guns, mattresses, sleeping bags, camping stoves, tinned food and a table, currently serving as Owen's medical table, on which Ianto resided. Half an hour went by, until Owen stepped back and nodded in approval.

"I'll let you two… yeah." Owen muttered quietly. "Just don't… yeah." He limped into their sparse supply cupboard and pulled the 'curtain' closed behind him. She and Ianto looked at each other, and after a long moment, he opened his arms, and she didn't even hesitate before climbing into them. She rested her head against his chest, and the steady beat of his heart soothed her frayed nerves.

"Where's your ring?" He asked in a hoarse voice, caressing her left hand fingers.

"Right here." She grinned, glancing up at him, and pulled it from her pocket, and allowing him to slip it onto her finger.

"I love you Ianto Jones." She murmured, burying her head into his chest. "Forever and ever."

She felt his chest vibrate weakly as he chuckled.

"I love you too, until forever."

Owen watched from the secrecy of the curtain, as the two lovers kissed gently. Deciding to give them privacy he slipped back into the shadows and slumped down on a storage crate. Not that anybody would ever know, but he found it… touching. It was nice that after all of this, love prevailed- for how long no one knows. Lifting his bad arm into his lap and resting it there, while he leaned back on the wall and closed his eyes. As he slipped into long overdue slumber he smiled to himself, as a woman with dark hair and eyes, her face framed with glasses drifted through his dreams…

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><p>"…I love him." Martha continued, in a broken kind of voice. The house of refugees listened on, enthralled. Doctor Milligan bowed his head in disappointment. Tosh wasn't listening. Soon, it had to be soon. Today was the first day they had been back in England since the fateful day when the president was killed- all they had to do was somehow get onto the Valliant. Somehow, they had to get themselves captured and not killed by the Toclofane, or whatever they were called anyway.<p>

Bloody hell, she was never going to hear the end of this. Providing the Doctor's plan didn't fail miserably and everybody died.

She was roused from her thoughts be chaos amongst the refugees.

"The Master- he's here!"

"But he never walks upon the ground!"

"He looks like a prick!"

"Steven!"

"Sorry Mum."

Tosh and Martha were bundled to the floor, and had a coat thrown over them. The silence was tense on the staircase as the Master addressed the street. Underneath the coat, Tosh met Martha's eyes, and a silent understanding passed between them.

Slowly, very slowly, they sat up, and carved their way through the crowd to the front door.

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><p><em><strong>Please Review Babesez! Xx<strong>_

_**(B.T.W. I think the Downtonian community loves me more- I have more reviews for my other story. Hint** hint.)_


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